Behrman Capital has acquired Vista Apex, a manufacturer of dental consumables for endodontic, restorative and periodontic dentistry, from Inverness Graham Partners.
Inverness Graham acquired Vista Apex (then Vista Dental) in June 2018 through its third fund and added-on to the platform with the buys of Illinois-based Apex Dental Materials in 2019, New Jersey-based Palisades Dental in 2021, and St. Louis-based Perio Protect in 2023.
In addition to its consumable products, Vista Dental also sells small dental equipment such as curing and warming lights, drill burs and handpieces, syringes and other ancillary products. The company sells its products through a global network of distribution partners and is headquartered near Milwaukee in Racine, Wisconsin, with additional facilities in St. Louis and China. Vista Apex’s management team, led by CEO Scott Lamerand, will continue to lead the company under Behrman’s ownership.
“Through targeted investments and value creation initiatives supported by Inverness Graham, we launched several innovative products, developed a strong pipeline of new innovations and invested heavily in automation and digital manufacturing,” said Mr. Lamerand. “During my time with the company, we have been able to grow our revenues by more than 250%, double our EBITDA margins and more than quadruple our EBITDA. We look forward to building upon this strong foundation and are excited for the future of Vista Apex.”
“Vista Apex is a proven company with a track record of success in the healthcare sector. Its innovative in-house research team and trusted customer relationships support a strong business, well-positioned for further expansion,” said Grant Behrman, the managing partner of Behrman Capital. “We’re looking forward to working with the Vista Apex management team to advance their growth strategy, including plans to grow the product portfolio and expand the company’s offering through strategic M&A.”
Inverness Graham invests in healthcare, tech-enabled services and software, and advanced manufacturing sectors. The firm was founded by senior executives of the Graham Group, a family-owned multi-national industrial and investment company with interests in plastics, packaging, recycling, building products, and outsourced manufacturing. Inverness Graham is based near Philadelphia in Wayne, Pennsylvania.
A past investment in the dental products sector by Inverness Graham was the 2013 buy of Danville Materials, a California-based manufacturer of consumable dental restorative products, which was sold in 2016 to dental products company ZEST Anchors, a portfolio company of Avista Capital.
“Vista Apex was our second dental platform at Inverness Graham and second time partnering with our long-term senior operating partner and dental industry expert Garrett Sato,” said Aliya Khaydarova, a managing principal at Inverness Graham. “Together with Garrett, we proactively identified Vista Dental as a potential platform and developed the strategy to transform the company into a broader dental solutions provider. Through our proprietary sourcing efforts, we identified and closed on three add-on acquisitions that significantly increased the breadth of Vista Apex’s product offerings, expanded the company’s total addressable market and provided significant opportunities for both revenue and cost synergies.”
Behrman Capital invests in management buyouts, leveraged buildups and recapitalizations of established growth businesses that are active in defense and aerospace, healthcare, and specialty industrial sectors.
“This is a transformative development for Vista Apex,” concluded Mr. Lamerand. “Behrman Capital’s deep healthcare and manufacturing experience makes them the ideal partner for our next phase of advancement as we seek to expand our operations and product portfolio to become the premier provider of ‘total tooth’ care solutions.”
Behrman Capital was founded by Grant Behrman and Daryl Behrman and has offices in New York City and San Francisco. The firm has raised more than $4 billion since its founding in 1991 and is currently investing out of its seventh fund.
© 2024 Private Equity Professional | April 17, 2024
