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Summit Partners

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Case Study:

Fermentas International

“Summit helped us expand in Europe and penetrate North America and Asia – from making acquisitions, to recruiting, to raising our profile in the diagnostics industry – laying the foundation for a successful sale.”

Dr. Viktorus Butkus, Former CEO

Location:
Burlington, Canada
Leadership:

Viktoras Butkus
Founded in:
1975
invested in:
2007
Status:

Acquired by Thermo Fisher Scientific 2010
Case Study:

Fermentas International

Doubled EBITDA in three years

Funded state-of-the art clean room manufacturing facility

Acquired by Thermo Fisher Scientific for $260 million

With origins dating back to the 1970s, Fermentas produced molecular biology products for scientific research. Fermentas grew to be the dominant player in Europe, and sought an experienced life sciences partner to solidify this leading position while helping expand geographically into North America and Asia.

How Summit helped:

  • Recruited Ken Fong, Ph.D., founder of Summit portfolio company Clontech Laboratories, as advisor and co-investor
  • Strengthened the company’s infrastructure by building financial controls and improving reporting standards
  • Established new sales offices in China and North America and helped acquire several distributors
  • Drove investments in new product development and sales force expansion through critical analysis
  • Helped evaluate strategic interest from potential acquirers and select the eventual acquirer

Fermentas had become one of the largest privately held companies in the molecular biology industry, selling more than 1000 products to leading researchers around the world. In 2010, Fermentas was acquired by Thermo Fisher Scientific, and today continues to innovate and succeed as part of a larger organization.