GRENOBLE, France, and MINNEAPOLIS, July 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Tornier, a global orthopedic company based in Grenoble, France, announced today that it closed a transaction with an investor group led by Warburg Pincus to acquire a majority interest in the company. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. In conjunction with this transaction, Alain Tornier, formerly President and Chief Executive Officer of Tornier, has been elected to the position of Chairman of the Board and Douglas W. Kohrs has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer.
Since its founding in the 1940's, Tornier has been among the pioneers in the European orthopedic industry. The company currently offers a broad range of joint replacement products including hips, knees, shoulders, ankles, and other extremity prostheses. During the 1990's the company's close collaboration with prominent surgeons led to the commercialization of its AEQUALIS(R) shoulder and SALTO(R) ankle product lines, thus establishing Tornier as a leader and innovator in the European extremity joint replacement market. In 2000 Tornier entered the United States market with its shoulder product line, and in 2004 the company became a leader in the shoulder arthroplasty market with the launch of the AEQUALIS(R) Reversed Shoulder Prostheses.
Alain Tornier, Chairman of the Board of Tornier, commented, "We are pleased to welcome Doug Kohrs as President and CEO of Tornier, and we also welcome Warburg Pincus and The Vertical Group as major shareholders. Mr. Kohrs, as well as Warburg Pincus and The Vertical Group, have proven track records of success in the global medical device industry, and we are confident that their guidance and vision will lead Tornier to a new and exciting phase of growth and opportunity."
Doug Kohrs, President and CEO of Tornier, commented, "I am both honored and excited to join such a prestigious organization as Tornier, and I look forward to working with Mr. Tornier, Warburg Pincus, and The Vertical Group to extend Tornier's long and enviable history of innovation and service to the global orthopedic community."
Doug Kohrs has a 25 year record of success and accomplishment in the medical device industry. He served as President and CEO of American Medical Systems ("AMS") from 1999 until 2005, and served as Chairman of the Board from 2004 until May 2006. Under his leadership, AMS transitioned from a non-core subsidiary of a major pharmaceutical company to an independent public company with one of the most dynamic and profitable businesses in the medical device industry. Prior to joining AMS, Mr. Kohrs held leadership positions in the orthopedic industry with Sulzer Spine-Tech, Johnson & Johnson Orthopedics, and Zimmer.
The investor group was represented in the Tornier transaction by Brown Brothers Harriman. Warburg Pincus, a global private equity firm, and The Vertical Group, a venture capital firm focused on the medical device industry, have a proven record of successful co-investment in the medical device industry. Co-investments by the two firms have included: American Medical Systems, ev3 Inc., Kyphon Inc., Spinecore (acquired by Stryker Corporation in 2004), Wright Medical Group, and Xomed Surgical Products Inc. (acquired by Medtronic in 1999).
About Warburg Pincus
Warburg Pincus has been a leading private equity investor since 1971. The firm currently has approximately $10 billion under management and invests in a range of industries, including healthcare, information and communication technology, consumer and industrial, media and business services, financial services, energy and real estate. Warburg Pincus has invested $4.4 billion of equity in healthcare-related companies around the world, including more than $1 billion in medical devices. In addition to Warburg Pincus' notable medical device investments mentioned above, Warburg Pincus' notable European healthcare investments include ProStrakan, Eurand, Euromedic International, Archimedes Pharma, and Zentiva. Warburg Pincus has historically invested more than $20 billion in approximately 525 companies in 30 countries. The firm has offices in New York, Menlo Park, London, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Seoul, Tokyo and Mumbai, and an active portfolio of more than 100 companies. For more information please visit www.warburgpincus.com.
TornierCONTACT: Jennifer Powers, Warburg Pincus, +1-212-878-6193
Web site: http://www.warburgpincus.com/
