GTCR and Maravai Complete Strategic Equity Investment in Vector Laboratories

CHICAGO, April 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- GTCR, a leading private equity firm, today announced that it has completed a strategic equity investment in Vector Laboratories, Inc. ("Vector" or the "Company"), through GTCR's previously established Maravai LifeSciences ("Maravai") management partnership with CEO Carl Hull.  Vector is a leading provider of life science products, including labeling and detection reagents, that help medical and scientific researchers visualize cells in experiments which are central to the understanding of cancer and other diseases.    

The strategic equity investment in Vector is another example of how GTCR executes The Leaders Strategy™.  In 2014, GTCR formalized a partnership with Carl and created Maravai with a strategy of acquiring companies and products in the diagnostics and life sciences industry in order to build a market leading healthcare business. 

Carl Hull is a 30-year veteran of the diagnostics and life sciences industry.  Prior to partnering with GTCR, Carl was President and Chief Executive Officer of Gen-Probe, a publicly-traded, market leading molecular diagnostic company.  His leadership helped reposition the business for commercial growth, culminating in the eventual sale of Gen-Probe to Hologic for $3.7 billion.  Prior to his time at Gen-Probe, he held a number of executive roles at various diagnostics and life sciences companies, including Applied Biosystems, Ventana Medical Systems and Abbott Laboratories.  Shortly after forming Maravai, Carl recruited Eric Tardif, who previously worked with Carl at Gen-Probe as Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy after spending over a decade at Morgan Stanley and other firms.

"Under Carl and Eric's leadership, Vector is an exciting starting point from which Maravai intends to build a market leading business in the diagnostics and life sciences industry," said GTCR Managing Director Dean Mihas. "Carl and Eric's expertise, strategic vision and operational abilities make them ideal partners as GTCR invests in this dynamic and growing segment of healthcare."

"The investment in Vector is a great first step and provides us with an excellent platform to build upon," said Carl Hull. "Vector is an excellent organization with a talented and dedicated team and we look forward to working with and investing in the organization and its employees."

"In addition to growth initiatives within the Company, we believe there will be a number of compelling investment opportunities to acquire other complementary companies and products that serve a similar customer base," added Ben Daverman, Principal at GTCR. "This multi-billion dollar addressable market opportunity includes products that enable adjacent scientific research workflows and diagnostic applications, which Maravai will look to serve through future acquisitions."

GTCR and Maravai's investment in Vector was funded from GTCR Fund XI, a private equity fund raised in 2014 with $3.85 billion of limited partner equity capital commitments. Kirkland & Ellis LLP provided legal counsel, PricewaterhouseCoopers served as accounting advisor, and BroadOak Partners, LLC served as financial advisor to GTCR.

About GTCR

Founded in 1980, GTCR is a leading private equity firm focused on investing in growth companies in the Financial Services & Technology, Healthcare, Technology, Media & Telecommunications and Growth Business Services industries. The Chicago-based firm pioneered The Leaders Strategy™—finding and partnering with management leaders in core domains to identify, acquire and build market-leading companies through transformational acquisitions and organic growth. Since its inception, GTCR has invested more than $12 billion in over 200 companies. For more information about GTCR, please visit www.gtcr.com.

About Maravai LifeSciences

Maravai LifeSciences was formed in 2014 as a partnership between Carl Hull, Eric Tardif and GTCR. Maravai's mission is to build a transformative company in the life sciences tools and in vitro diagnostics markets by acquiring outstanding businesses in these spaces and accelerating their growth. For more information about Maravai LifeSciences, please contact 312.953.3305 or visit www.maravai.com.

About Vector Laboratories

Vector Laboratories is a specialized life science tools company that provides researchers with labeling and detection reagents, which are critical components in immunohistochemistry studies and other life science research applications.  The company's products are frequently cited in peer-reviewed academic journals and its customer base includes researchers at some of the world's leading hospitals, academic research institutions and life science companies.  Vector was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Burlingame, California. For more information about Vector Laboratories, please visit www.vectorlabs.com.

Contact for release:
Eileen Rochford
312-953-3305

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SOURCE GTCR

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