Massachusetts Firm Acquires MedVenture

MedVenture Technology Corp., a 10-year-old medical device maker considered a success story in Louisville, KY’s drive to become a center for the life-science industries, has been acquired by a Massachusetts-based investment firm and MedVenture executives.

Ampersand Ventures of Wellesley, MA led the buyout of the majority of interests from previous investors, MedVenture said. Terms were not disclosed.

The company, which focuses on the design, development and manufacture of minimally invasive surgical devices, was founded in 1998, growing out of the former Louisville Laboratories Inc. By 2000 it had made Inc. magazine’s list of America’s 500 fastest-growing private companies.

MedVenture chief executive Kevin Bramer did not return a call seeking comment. He said in a company statement that the Ampersand-led acquisition would be good for the business, which moved from Louisville, KY to Jeffersonville, IN in 2006.

“We are excited about our partnership with Ampersand,” Bramer said. “We believe that they share our focus on strategic growth, exceptional customer service, quality technical development and advanced manufacturing.”

MedVenture had about 175 employees when it left Louisville. When the Jeffersonville City Council endorsed a $4.3 million package of incentives to attract the company to the NorthPort Business Centre, city officials said they thought the work force could reach 530 by 2010, with an average wage of $25 an hour.

Earlier this year, MedVenture refunded $143,688 in tax incentives after it did not meet total wage-growth targets. A company official said then that MedVenture had about 200 employees.

Ampersand Ventures is a middle-market private equity firm focused on the health-care and industrial sectors. Its investment strategy, according to its Web site, emphasizes later-stage growth equity opportunities, and managers “prefer to be the first, usually the sole, institutional investor.”