December 20, 2002
Celerity Partners Invests in ABC Laboratories, Inc., Provider of Outsourced Chemical and Biological Services for the Pharmaceutical and Chemical Industries.
LOS ANGELES, CA and COLUMBIA, MO (Business Wire) — Celerity Partners announced today the completion of a growth equity investment in ABC Laboratories, Inc. ABC Laboratories provides value-added chemical and biological services for prospective new pharmaceutical compounds as they progress from discovery to commercialization. ABC Laboratories counts the majority of large pharmaceutical companies among its clients and is also well positioned with mid-sized companies and well-funded development stage biotechnology concerns. Celerity is making an investment in ABC Laboratories as its platform in pharmaceutical outsourcing and expects the company to augment strong organic growth with selective strategic acquisitions.
Since entering the pharmaceutical segment in 1995, ABC Laboratories has demonstrated its ability to compete and has been posting impressive growth rates in each of its service lines. Substantial capacity was put in place during 2002 that should support significant organic growth. Jake Halliday, Ph.D., ABC’s President and CEO since 1993 stated, “With our services platform now in place, this is the perfect time for Celerity to come into the picture – we can respond to growth opportunities backed by a stronger capital position. Celerity has an opportunity to invest in a growing life science segment without the customary technology risk, and we get the benefit of a wealth of applicable outsourcing insights from the other industries in which Celerity has experience.”
Steve Tagtmeier, a partner at Celerity who led the transaction, stated, “We feel there is a great market opportunity for companies that supply specialized services to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. ABC Laboratories has put in place a unique combination of chemistry and biology services that are key to solving major challenges faced by the pharmaceutical and chemical industry – namely, selecting from the glut of drug candidates those most likely to achieve an FDA approval and advancing them through the preclinical, clinical and manufacturing development pipeline. We are excited about the opportunity to back Jake and his team as they continue their growth.”
Dr. Halliday added, “We are also pleased with the continued interest of potential co-investors who would bring additional strategic value to the table. As such, we may bring in additional capital in early 2003. This was an challenging year to be out raising capital and we were well served by our investment banking team from Stephens Inc. We also appreciate the continued support of our local lenders, First National Bank & Trust Company and Boone County National Bank.” ABC Laboratories received legal advice from ABC corporate counsel Howard Mick of Stinson Morrison Hecker in Kansas City, and Celerity was represented by Seth Berry of the Boston office of Weil, Gotshal & Manges.
For further information, please contact Steve Tagtmeier at (650) 233-8243 or Jake Halliday at (573) 443-9040.
ABOUT CELERITY PARTNERS: Celerity Partners is a private equity fund whose objective is to build businesses, in partnership with management, to preeminence in their respective markets. Since its inception in September 1995, Celerity has invested in 40 companies with an aggregate transaction value in excess of $2 billion. Celerity currently manages approximately $200 million of equity capital and has offices in Los Angeles and Menlo Park, CA. www.celeritypartners.com.
ABOUT ABC LABORATORIES: ABC Laboratories provides integrated chemical and biological services for product development in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and chemical industries. The company was founded in 1968, has 190 employees, and operates from its 56-acre laboratory complex in Columbia, Missouri.