Behrman Capital, a private equity investment firm based in New York and San Francisco, has acquired Atherotech, a Birmingham, Alabama-based provider of cardiometabolic testing services that offers the VAP (Vertical Auto Profile) advanced lipid profile test.
The transaction closed on December 23, 2010. The equity capital for the acquisition came from Behrman Capital IV, with debt financing provided by MidCap Financial.
Developed by Jere Segrest, director of the Atherosclerosis Research Unit at the University of Alabama, Birmingham, Atherotech’s patented VAP Test provides direct, detailed measurements of the lipid subclasses that cause cardiovascular disease. VAP technology more accurately identifies people at risk of heart disease than the traditional cholesterol tests developed in the 1970s, and does so at no significant additional cost. The profiles obtained by the test also allow physicians to create individualised treatment plans while continuing to track patients’ progress in battling heart disease. Atherotech provides its unique testing services to physicians, hospitals, clinics, and other laboratories throughout the United States.
“In light of our previous successes deploying investment capital to help fuel the growth of diagnostic laboratory testing companies, we are particularly excited about this transaction,” says Grant G Behrman, Managing Partner of Behrman Capital. “Atherotech’s VAP Test is the premium offering in advanced cholesterol testing and has been steadily gaining higher adoption amongst physicians. It enables physicians to more accurately identify those at risk of heart disease – the No1 cause of death in the United States – and more effectively treat those suffering from it. We look forward to partnering with CEO Mike Mullen and the rest of the Atherotech management team as they continue to pursue the growth of their business.”
