Two Rochester businesses have been acquired by out-of-state companies, expanding their capabilities.
Iuvo BioSciences, a specialty contract research organization, has agreed to be bought by Ampersand Capital Partners, a private equity firm specializing in growth equity investments in life sciences and health care. Ampersand has offices in Boston and in the Netherlands.
eLogic, a technology consulting firm that focuses on the manufacturing industry, has been sold to Seattle’s Avanade, a business that offers digital, cloud and advisory services, industry solutions and design-led experiences in the Microsoft realm.
Financial terms for both deals were not disclosed.
The eLogic team will provide the foundation for new intelligent sales and services offerings, expanding Avanade’s portfolio of services and providing substantially more value to clients, officials say. The acquisition adds more than 70 mid-market and enterprise-focused clients to Avanade’s manufacturing portfolio and over 80 deeply specialized professionals to its existing business applications team.
“eLogic has 22 years of dedicated focus on helping our manufacturing customers transform into Intelligent Enterprises through a two-platform strategy, leveraging SAP and Microsoft as the market-leading cloud platforms,” says Kris Shields, eLogic president and CEO. “By joining the Avanade team, eLogic is thrilled to scale our capabilities and further drive the realization of our cross-platform solutions to enable more manufacturers to unlock the necessary complexity of configured and engineered products.”
Eric Miquelon, president of Avanade North America, says the acquisition will help Avanade continue to redefine how it brings the best of Microsoft to clients.
Ampersand Capital Partners’ agreement to acquire iuvo BioScience will enable the expansion of the local firm’s integrated service portfolio and laboratory capacity and fund an active inorganic growth strategy, iuvo says. As part of the transaction, Daniel Spasic joins its board as chairman.
“Iuvo’s partnership with Ampersand comes at a pivotal moment in the company’s history,” says Ben Burton, president and CEO of iuvo. “With support from Ampersand, iuvo is well-positioned to continue its strong growth trajectory and expand our abilities to provide unrivaled service to our customers. Ampersand’s deep industry expertise, broad network, and capital resources will fortify iuvo’s position as a leading specialty CRO.”
Burton launched iuvo in 2015 with Mary Richardson with a goal to offer services to small and midsize biotech and medical devices companies. The former Bausch & Lomb executives bought two Moog Inc. units to create iuvo to offer lab services, toxicology and preclinical testing, clinical development and trial execution. Iuvo also extends assistance with scientific and regulatory matters.
Burton and Richardson, chief scientific officer, are expected to continue in their roles and remain shareholders with Ampersand.
“Iuvo enjoys a unique market position given its ability to provide such a broad service offering, enabling biotech and medical device companies to partner with the company from early laboratory and preclinical research through the entire clinical development process,” Spasic says. “I’ve been impressed by Ben and Mary’s leadership and strategic decision to serve their clients, while deepening the company’s expertise in strategic therapeutic areas.
“We all see numerous opportunities to leverage iuvo’s unique market position and become a stronger partner to our customers, while also staying committed to delivering high-touch services.”
Smriti Jacob is Rochester Beacon managing editor. The Beacon welcomes comments from readers who adhere to our comment policy including use of their full, real name.