EXFO’s life sciences division goes to private buyer
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
Private equity firm The Riverside Company has purchased the life sciences and industrial division of EXFO, a Canadian telecommunications specialist, for an undisclosed fee. The division markets cellular imaging technology such as the X-Cite fluorescence illumination system and UV bonding products, including the OmniCure S2000 catheter assembly system. Riverside will rename the business, based in Mississauga, Ontario, The Lumen Diagnostics Group (LDG). The EXFO group said the divested division only accounts for 10% of its revenues (its telecommunications business accounts for 90%) and in fiscal 2009, life sciences sales had dropped 13% to $19.8m due to a decline in demand for products. However, Riverside believes that LDG has "enormous growth potential", with a unique patent portfolio and strong management team, among other things. Riverside’s investment portfolio already includes IVD test kits developer GTI Diagnostics, clinical and lab testing products firm Novamed and disposable, single-used medical device maker Summit Medical.
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