CHICAGO, April 23, 2007 – Baird Capital Partners, the US-based buyout fund of Baird Private Equity, today announced the sale of its portfolio company, The Hygenic Corporation, to The Cortec Group Fund IV, L.P., a New York-based private equity firm. Hygenic is a leading manufacturer and marketer of branded healthcare and fitness products for the rehabilitation, therapy, and wellness markets, including those marketed under the brands Thera-Band®,Biofreeze®, Dyna-Band®, AquafinsTM, and Parabath®. Baird Capital Partners, the lead investor in Hygenic since 2004, partnered with American Capital Strategies Ltd. (Nasdaq: ACAS) and Beecken Petty O’Keefe & Company.
“We are proud of Hygenic’s growth since our purchase in 2004,” said Andrew Brickman, Partner, Baird Capital Partners. “Our investment exceeded our return expectation with greater than a 4x return on invested capital.”
“Baird and our other equity partners provided key strategic and financial resources allowing us to expand and build upon the most trusted and effective products in our industry,” said Hygenic CEO Stewart Lorenzen. “We will continue to build upon this platform with our new partners at Cortec.”
Founded in 1925, Akron-based Hygenic Corporation participates in the $6+ billion dollar worldwide market for healthcare and fitness products. Hygenic’s products, which are manufactured in the US and Malaysia, are recognized and/or purchased by virtually every rehabilitation, therapy and professional wellness practitioner in the United States.
“We have made great strides toward building a unique platform company in the growing physical and occupational therapy, athletic training, chiropractic, podiatry and therapeutic massage markets,” said Earl DeCarli, the President and COO of Hygenic. “We are committed to providing innovative new products and practical solutions to address the health and wellness needs of an active and aging population.”
Said Brickman, “Our goal, when we teamed with management to acquire Hygenic, was to build a leading manufacturer and marketer of branded rehabilitation, therapy and wellness products that meet our customers’ demanding expectations. We believe that we accomplished that goal”
During Baird Capital Partners’ ownership, Hygenic grew its sales from $40 million to $70 million. In 2006, Baird Capital Partners facilitated and helped fund Hygenic’s acquisition of Performance Health, a developer and marketer of topical analgesics and warming ointments.
“Our approach at Baird Capital Partners is never about just providing capital,” said Brickman. “We accomplished our initial investment objectives by bringing the right complement to an already strong management team, completing an accretive acquisition and assisting the Company with their sourcing and manufacturing efforts in Asia. It is a nice success story.”
About Baird Capital Partners
Baird Capital Partners, the U.S.-based buyout fund of Baird Private Equity, provides change-of-control and growth capital to middle-market companies in the Business Services and Manufactured Products sectors. Baird Capital Partners also is supported by operating resources in China (Beijing, Hong Kong, and Shanghai) and India (Bangalore), focused on facilitating and executing Asia sourcing, manufacturing and distribution strategies for BCP’s portfolio companies. For more information, please visit www.bairdcapitalpartners.com.
Baird Private Equity, the global private equity group affiliated with Robert W. Baird & Co. (Baird), makes venture capital, change-in-control and growth equity investments in the United States through Baird Venture Partners and Baird Capital Partners and in Europe through Baird Capital Partners Europe and Granville Baird, an affiliated fund manager that invests in Germany. With more than 40 investment professionals in the United States and Europe and over 20 operating professionals in Asia, Baird Private Equity has raised and managed $1.8 billion in capital. The group’s investments are supported by Baird’s full range of financial advice, operating expertise and industry research, providing a unique full-service approach to the entire private equity investment process.
