Los Angeles, June 15, 2018 – California Cryobank, the world’s leading donor sperm and donor egg bank, announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement for GI Partners, a private equity investment firm, to acquire the company from leading healthcare investors Longitude Capital and NovaQuest Capital.
In a separate transaction announced today, GI Partners has also entered into a definitive agreement with AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAG) to acquire Cord Blood Registry (CBR), the world’s largest stem cell collection and storage company. Following the close of both transactions, California Cryobank and CBR will join together in a newly combined entity that will operate under the California Cryobank Life Sciences platform, bringing together best-in-class organizations to provide enhanced domestic and international expansion opportunities in both the donor reproductive tissue and newborn stem cell industries.
Dave Kreter, Managing Director at GI Partners said, “We have been following the growing and dynamic reproductive and stem cell space for several years and were attracted to these two companies by their robust customer and market characteristics. Their combination represents a unique opportunity to create a new platform better positioned to further expand their industry leading capabilities. We are excited to collaborate with management to extend the combined company’s capabilities internationally and make critical investments to support its next phase of growth.”
Recognized as the world’s premier donor sperm and egg bank, California Cryobank has been an industry leader and innovator since 1977. Together, the donor sperm and donor egg banks have helped over 75,000 families.
Richard Jennings, California Cryobank CEO, commented that “The Life Sciences platform created by the combination of our two companies will allow us to utilize our collective strengths more effectively, and achieve our vision of helping to grow and protect healthy families around the world. CBR is the most recognized cord blood brand among expectant parents and we are excited to expand CBR’s presence in the newborn stem cell market even further given California Cryobank’s global footprint. Cord blood and cord tissue offer a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to protect families against 80 diseases, and give clients the biologic resource to utilize clinical therapies within regenerative medicine.”
“We are bringing together the leaders in two complementary, family-focused industries,” explained California Cryobank COO Pamela Richardson. “Both organizations set the standard for clinical excellence, customer experience, physician relations, and overall quality. The combination will provide enhanced value to our clients. CBR is a perfect fit with California Cryobank’s mission of providing the highest quality reproductive and stem cell services, guided by dedicated customer focus, unmatched scientific excellence, and innovative leadership.”
Dr. Greg Grunberg, Managing Director at Longitude Capital said, “Over the course of the last four decades, California Cryobank has helped countless families achieve their most fundamental of aspirations. We are thrilled to provide our continued support to our world class management team, which upholds the highest moral, ethical, and scientific standards, as California Cryobank expands its vital services and advances the fields of reproductive and regenerative medicine.”
William O. Robb, Founding Partner of NovaQuest Capital Management added, “The combination of CCB and CBR demonstrates this management team’s success in positioning California Cryobank Life Sciences as the leading reproductive services platform in the world. The immediate and longer-term synergies between CCB and CBR in donor sperm, donor egg, and stem cell services will create a critical partner to the families, physicians, and other key stakeholders in the growing reproductive sciences field.”
About California Cryobank
California Cryobank® provides frozen donor sperm, frozen donor egg, reproductive tissue storage, and cord blood banking (through FamilyCord) and is registered with the FDA, accredited by the AATB and AABB, and licensed by the states of California, New York, and Maryland. California Cryobank is a portfolio company of two healthcare-focused private investment firms, Longitude Capital and NovaQuest Capital Management. For more information, visit www.californiacryobank.com
About Cord Blood Registry
Cord Blood Registry® (CBR®) is the world’s largest newborn stem cell company. Founded in 1992, CBR is entrusted by parents with storing samples from more than 600,000 children. CBR is dedicated to advancing the clinical application of cord blood and cord tissue stem cells by partnering with institutions to establish FDA-regulated clinical trials for conditions that have no cure today. For more information, visit www.cordblood.com
About GI Partners
GI Partners is a private investment firm based in San Francisco. The firm has raised $16.0 billion in capital from leading institutional investors across the globe. GI Partners' private equity team focuses on investments in the IT Infrastructure, Healthcare, Software, and Services sectors. For more information on GI Partners and its entire portfolio, visit www.gipartners.com
About Longitude Capital
Longitude Capital specializes in making venture growth investments in healthcare companies that seek to improve clinical outcomes, enhance quality of life and/or reduce system costs. Since 2006, Longitude Capital has raised over $1.2 billion across three funds and demonstrated an ability to source, manage and exit across a variety of investment approaches. For more information visit www.longitudecapital.com
About NovaQuest Capital
NovaQuest Capital Management is a leading investor in life sciences and healthcare through its BioPharma and Private Equity strategies. NovaQuest was formed in 2000 with the vision of building an investment platform to provide strategic capital to life sciences and healthcare companies. Today, NovaQuest Capital Management manages over $1.8 billion through its BioPharma and Private Equity strategies. The investment team consists of highly seasoned operational and investment professionals with significant investment experience and deep life science and healthcare expertise. Furthermore, NovaQuest benefits from an extensive network of industry experts and relationships that assist in identifying, analyzing and growing NovaQuest portfolio companies and investments. For more information, please visit www.novaquest.com
Advisors
Cain Brothers & Company, a division of KeyBanc Capital Markets, served as exclusive financial advisor to California Cryobank. Morrison & Foerster LLP acted as legal counsel to California Cryobank. For more information, visit www.cainbrothers.com and www.mofo.com.
Media Contact: Scott Brown (310) 496-5681