PE Today: DLA Piper Broadens Mid-Market PE Practice in Chicago
Plus, Ampersand combines diagnostics companies, and Platte River completes an exit
Read the top headlines from Thursday, April 21, 2022 below:
Ampersand Combines American Laboratory Products with GeneProof
American Laboratory Products Company (ALPCO), which provides in vitro diagnostics services, announced it is merging with molecular diagnostics company GeneProof, to create a market leader in the diagnostics products industry. The combined company is majority owned by Ampersand Capital Partners, a middle-market private equity firm, which first invested in ALPCO in 2020. The new entity will offer services that include real-time PCR testing, immunoassay testing, automated laboratory instrumentation and more.
In a statement, Ampersand general partner and ALPCO board member Eric Lev said the firm will support the combined entity as it builds “into a fully integrated global leader in the field of diagnostics,” as well as commercializes its automated real-time PCR solutions across North America.
Related content: Beyond Industry Expertise: Why Buyers Should Explore Less Familiar, but Adjacent, Markets
DLA Piper Expands Mid-Market PE Practice in Chicago
DLA Piper is looking to strengthen its position in the middle-market private equity space with the addition of a group of lawyers joining the firm’s Chicago Private Equity Practice, it announced Thursday (April 21). DLA Piper said lateral partners Harris Eisenberg, lex Plakas, Nathan Wilda and Drew Rosenberry are joining the Chicago PE practice, while about 20 additional lawyers in Chicago will join as well.
“The firm developed and is implementing a focused strategic plan, and private equity is a primary part of the plan,” stated DLA Piper US vice chairman Joe Alexander in a statement. “We strongly believe middle-market private equity represents a tremendous opportunity for the firm and our focus is to continue growing our PE practice in Chicago, other major markets in the US and around the world.”
Platte River Equity Completes Vertical Supply Group Exit
Private equity firm Platte River Equity has completed its exit of Vertical Supply Group (VSG), a distributor, manufacturer and e-commerce retailer of products for arborists. Middle-market investment bank BlackArch Partners advised on the sale of VSG to Gridiron Capital, a press release said. BlackArch noted that this is the second Platte River transaction on which it advised, and added that it supports its growing presence in the specialty distribution, e-commerce and safety solutions market.
