GHO Capital & The Vistria Group to Acquire Alcami From Madison Dearborn Partners & Ampersand Capital Partners

Global Healthcare Opportunities, or GHO Capital Partners LLP (GHO), the European specialist investor in global healthcare, and The Vistria Group, a middle-market private investment firm focused on delivering financial returns and societal impact, recently announced they have entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a controlling interest in Alcami Corporation from funds affiliated with Madison Dearborn Partners (MDP) and Ampersand Capital Partners (Ampersand).

Headquartered in NC, Alcami has built a strong offering, market position, and reputation in high-growth specialties, including drug product manufacturing focusing on sterile fill-finish of both biologics and small molecules; formulation development; lab services; and cGMP biostorage of high-value temperature-sensitive biologics, pharmaceuticals, and materials.

Alcami enacted a major strategic transformation, enhancing the growth profile of the business. Building on a strong service offering, Alcami acquired a world-class sterile fill-finish operation in TriPharm Services, and in December 2021, acquired Masy BioServices, a premier cGMP biostorage and pharma services business. In addition, Alcami has invested over $140 million in capital expenditure to add five state-of-the-art sterile fill-finish manufacturing lines and additional laboratory space to support both biologic and small molecule programs.

Patrick Walsh, Chairman and CEO of Alcami, said “This is an ideal partnership in furthering Alcami’s strategic transformation, unprecedented growth rate and comprehensive service offerings valued by over 1,000 clients around the globe. GHO and The Vistria Group have excellent reputations for partnering with high growth companies that create value for all stakeholders. We want to thank the MDP and Ampersand teams for their strong leadership and support of Alcami over the last several years and we look forward to further scaling our offering, capacity and geographic reach with our new partners.”

Mike Mortimer and Alan MacKay, Managing Partners of GHO Capital, said “We believe Alcami represents a unique opportunity to acquire a rapidly growing CDMO with complementary capabilities in attractive markets. We have built a strong relationship with the Alcami management team and have been impressed by the significant transformation program and high growth. The company is set to accelerate its growth and leveraging our specialist expertise, we are delighted to be supporting them to diversify its product and service mix, pushing into new markets such as Europe.”

“This partnership reinforces The Vistria Group’s thematic approach in this space. We have been tracking Alcami and are excited to partner with the Alcami leadership team. This is the ideal platform in the CDMO and lab services areas we have been targeting,” added Jon Maschmeyer, Senior Partner and Co-Head of Healthcare for The Vistria Group.

“We would like to thank Pat and the entire Alcami team for their tremendous contributions in building a world-class organization,” said Madison Dearborn Partners Managing Director Jason Shideler, Managing Director Michael Dolce and Director Tanner Scott. “GHO and The Vistria Group bring a wealth of experience and expertise to Alcami and we look forward to watching Alcami extend its leading position as a value-added CDMO to the biotech and pharmaceutical industry.”

GHO Capital and The Vistria Group will acquire a 50/50 controlling interest in Alcami from funds affiliated with MDP and Ampersand. Ampersand and Alcami Management will reinvest significant equity as part of the acquisition. Financial terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

Ropes & Gray LLP acted as legal advisor to GHO Capital and The Vistria Group, Jefferies Group LLC and OES acted as buyside financial advisors, McKinsey as commercial diligence advisor, Deloitte as financial and tax due diligence advisor, EY as ESG advisor and Lockton as insurance advisor. Financing is provided by credit funds managed by Ares Management, as Administrative Agent and Lead Arranger.

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC is serving as financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving as legal advisor to Alcami.

The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2022, after customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

Alcami is a contract development and manufacturing organization headquartered in North Carolina with over 40 years of experience advancing products through every development lifecycle stage. Leveraging 675,000 ft² across the United States, Alcami serves pharmaceutical and biotech companies of all sizes providing customizable and innovative solutions for analytical development, clinical to commercial sterile and oral solid manufacturing, packaging, microbiology, cGMP biostorage, environmental monitoring, and pharmaceutical support services. Alcami’s private equity ownership includes GHO Capital, The Vistria Group, and Ampersand Capital Partners. For more information, visit alcaminow.com.

Global Healthcare Opportunities, or GHO Capital Partners LLP, is a leading specialist healthcare investment advisor based in London. We apply global capabilities and perspectives to unlock high growth healthcare opportunities, targeting Pan-European and transatlantic internationalisation to build market leading businesses of strategic global value. Our proven investment track record reflects the unrivalled depth of our industry expertise and network. We partner with strong management teams to generate long-term sustainable value, improving the efficiency of healthcare delivery to enable better, faster, more accessible healthcare. For more information, visit www.ghocapital.com.

The Vistria Group is building a new kind of private investment firm that seeks to deliver both financial returns and societal impact. It invests in essential industries like healthcare, knowledge and learning, and financial services that deliver value for investors as well as communities, employees, and consumers. The Vistria Group works as a true partner with its portfolio companies, drawing on its deep sector knowledge, operational expertise, unique network, diverse team, and impact orientation to achieve transformational growth. With over $8 billion in AUM, The Vistria Group believes it has delivered attractive returns for its investors while achieving positive outcomes for its portfolio companies, and the lives and livelihoods it supports. For more information, visit www.vistria.com.

Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC (MDP) is a leading private equity investment firm based in Chicago. Since MDP’s formation in 1992, the firm has raised aggregate capital of over $28 billion and has completed over 150 platform investments. MDP invests across five dedicated industry verticals, including basic industries; business and government software and services; financial and transaction services; health care; and telecom, media and technology services. For more information, visit www.mdcp.com.

Founded in 1988, Ampersand Capital Partners is a middle market private equity firm with more than $3 billion of assets under management dedicated to growth-oriented investments in the healthcare sector. With offices in Boston, MA and Amsterdam, Netherlands, Ampersand leverages a unique blend of private equity and operating experience to build value and drive superior long-term performance alongside its portfolio company management teams. Ampersand has helped build numerous market-leading companies across each of the firm’s core healthcare sectors. For additional information, visit ampersandcapital.com.