Clayton, Dubilier & Rice Acquires Cynosure to Accelerate Growth in the Aesthetic Medicine Market

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned from foreign media reports that on November 20, 2019, local time, the U.S. private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) announced it would acquire Cynosure, Hologic’s medical aesthetics company. Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed.

The acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of 2019. Meanwhile, Ms. Peterson, former Global Chairman of Johnson & Johnson, will serve as Chair of the Board of Directors of Cynosure.

UBS Investment Bank has committed to providing debt financing for the transaction and will serve as financial advisor to CD&R. Barclays and Credit Suisse are also acting as financial advisors, while Debevoise & Plimpton LLP will serve as legal counsel to CD&R. Goldman Sachs is serving as financial advisor. Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is acting as legal counsel to Hologic.

Cynosure, founded in 1991 and headquartered in Westford, Massachusetts, USA, is a leading company in the medical aesthetics industry. Cynosure develops, manufactures, and sells aesthetic treatment systems that enable plastic surgeons, dermatologists, and other licensed practitioners to perform non-invasive and minimally invasive procedures for hair removal, treatment of vascular and benign pigmented lesions, removal of colored tattoos, skin texture improvement, cellulite reduction, sweat gland ablation, and more, ultimately enhancing women’s health.

The company’s extensive product portfolio spans several key categories, including skin rejuvenation, body contouring, hair removal, and women’s health. Cynosure markets its products through direct sales and distributors in more than 130 countries and supports its vendor partners with a range of technical, clinical, and support services.

As social media grows increasingly important in modern life, medical aesthetics will remain a vast market with strong, sustained growth. Personalized treatment plans for diverse populations, safer medical technologies, effective non-invasive procedures, and a greater number of qualified medical professionals and medical spas will all contribute to providing beauty-conscious individuals with safer, more professional, and more effective medical aesthetic services.

Derek Strum, a partner at CD&R, stated: “Cynosure is a market leader with a comprehensive product portfolio and over 25 years of experience in science-driven medical innovation. In addition to our targeted acquisition strategy, we aim to continue investing in the company’s strong brand and extensive global customer base. We will accelerate market growth by expanding sales and enhancing marketing efforts, while bringing new products and technologies to market to deliver superior clinical outcomes for patients.”

Sandi Peterson, Partner at CD&R, stated: “The medical aesthetics device market is large and fragmented, with highly attractive long-term prospects supported by strong demographic trends. Cynosure’s business model and distribution channels align well with our extensive experience in consumer-focused medical device companies with similar positioning. We believe this business is an excellent fit for CD&R’s strategy of helping corporate divisions transition into independent enterprises, implementing growth and productivity initiatives to accelerate performance improvement.”

Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R), founded in 1978, is a private equity firm. Since its inception, CD&R has managed $28 billion in investments across 86 companies, including numerous consumer health and medical device businesses. CD&R maintains offices in New York and London.

(Compiled by Wang Fang)