Altor Acquires Orchid Orthopedic Solutions

Orchid Orthopedic Solutions has a new owner.

The worldwide design and manufacturing services supplier of orthopedic and dental implants and instruments has been purchased by Altor Fund III from Churchill Equity Inc. Altor is a Swedish private equity firm that invests in and develops medium-sized companies in Europe’s Nordic region.

“We are delighted to have Altor as a new owner,” Orchid CEO Mike Miller said. “Altor shares our view on the future development of the company and has the resources, experience, and time horizon required.”

Altor executives said they based their decision to acquire Orchid on the orthopedic industry’s prospects for long-term growth.

“With an increasingly active and aging population in the western markets and increasing public and private health care spend in the developing markets, there is a fundamentally solid long term demand growth outlook for orthopedic and dental implants,” noted Claes Ekström, a partner at Altor Equity Partners AB. “With a leading position in a fragmented supplier industry, Orchid is very well placed to participate in that growth.”

Though Altor officials did not reveal a purchase price for Orchid or an overall growth strategy for the company, they hinted that future growth could come from a combination of organic development and international expansion.

“We are impressed with Orchid’s performance and its management team, and we are excited about the opportunity to develop and support the company in its continued growth, together with its management, organically as well as through an international expansion,” said Hans Stråberg, an Altor board member and former CEO of Electrolux.

Churchill Equity executives called Altor a “perfect match” for Orchid. “We are very pleased to have found a dynamic, committed and resourceful new owner for Orchid. Altor, with its international experience, resources and ability to take a longer term investment perspective, is the perfect match for Orchid,” said Sameer Vijayakar, a partner at Churchill Equity, a Minneapolis, Minn.-based provider of equity investment capital.

Orchid provides design and development, implant and instrument manufacturing, advanced machining, plastics technology, implant coatings and surface treatment, and packaging services. The company is based in Holt, Mich.