MARIETTA, Ohio—August 16, 2021—Caron Products and Services, a leading provider of laboratory equipment used in small and large molecule drug development and manufacturing, cell and gene therapy, and academic research, today announced that it has completed the acquisition of Bigneat Ltd., a provider of high-performance safety solutions and laboratory products used in biopharmaceutical, biotechnology, academic research, and applied markets. Terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.
“Bigneat is an excellent strategic acquisition for Caron,” said Jay Hexamer, CEO of Caron. “The companies have complementary products, engineering capabilities, operational expertise and geographic footprint. Caron and Bigneat are both well-positioned to benefit from rapidly growing areas in the life sciences industry, including development of cell and gene therapies, laboratory automation and continued focus on productivity and safety of laboratory professionals.”
Founded in 1972 and based in Hampshire, England with operations in the U.S., Bigneat is widely recognized as one of the foremost laboratory safety experts with solutions including laboratory fume hoods, controlled atmosphere enclosures, and robotic and automation enclosures.
“The entire team at Bigneat, my family and I are all incredibly excited to join Caron,” said Robert Monks, Managing Director and CEO of Bigneat. “The combination of our strong European network and Caron’s market leadership in the U.S. provides immediate opportunities to both businesses to better serve our customers.”
“We are also excited to partner with SFW Capital in this transaction,” continued Monks. “They have backed some of the most successful businesses in the laboratory sector, and we have every confidence that Caron and SFW are the right partners for us to build on our strong legacy, better serve our customers, bring new solutions to market, and provide opportunities for our employees.”
According to Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, the global market for life sciences and lab equipment is growing at a 7.2 percent CAGR and is on track to reach nearly $66 billion by 2023.
“When we invested in Caron, we saw the opportunity to expand the business through a range of organic growth initiatives and strategic acquisitions,” added Ahmad Sheikh, Caron Board member, and Partner at SFW Capital Partners. “The strategic acquisition of Bigneat – particularly the addition of technical talent, expanded offering, and complementary customer segments – is an important step toward building Caron into a market-leading provider of laboratory equipment used in research, development, production and quality control processes in the global life sciences sector.”
About Caron Products and Services
Founded in 1985 in Marietta, OH, Caron is a leading provider of laboratory equipment used in small and large molecule drug development and manufacturing, cell and gene therapy, and academic research. Caron’s products, which include environmental testing chambers, incubators and growth chambers, are used for FDA-required QA/QC stability testing during drug development and manufacturing, cell culture in clean-room environments, and growth of samples in academic research. Caron sells its products to a diverse range of customers in the biopharmaceutical, biotechnology, outsourced pharmaceutical services, industrial testing, consumer products, and public research markets, among others. For more information, visit www.caronproducts.com.
About Bigneat
Founded in 1972 and based in Hampshire, England with operations in the U.S., Bigneat is a world-class manufacturer and leading global provider of clean air, hazard containment and safety systems to scientific laboratories and industry. Applications for Bigneat’s products cover operator and process/sample protection during laboratory procedures, batch and on-line production processes. Bigneat sells its products to a diverse range of customers in the biological, chemical, electronics, food, government, nanotechnology, pharmaceutical, photonics, universities, and schools, for QA/research laboratories and sterile production areas. For more information, visit www.bigneat.com.
About SFW Capital Partners, LP
SFW Capital Partners is a specialized private equity firm that invests in leading Information, Software, Industrial and Healthcare Technology companies. These companies, which include providers of instrumentation, laboratory products, software/information, and related solutions, provide a high return on investment to their customers and can serve a wide variety of end-markets. Our principals’ 25+ years of investing in and experience with relevant business models, technologies, competitive dynamics, and service requirements gives us confidence in our ability to support management teams in growing their companies and building value. For more information, visit www.sfwcap.com.