Cantel to Acquire Hu-Friedy
Cantel Medical Corp has announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire Hu-Friedy, a 111-year-old global leading manufacturer of instruments and instrument reprocessing workflow systems serving the dental industry.
LITTLE FALLS, NJ, and CHICAGO, IL, July 30, 2019 – Cantel Medical Corp has announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire Hu-Friedy, a 111-year-old global leading manufacturer of instruments and instrument reprocessing workflow systems serving the dental industry. After closing, Cantel will combine Hu-Friedy with its dental division, Crosstex, a global leader in infection prevention, sterility assurance, dental water management and conscious sedation systems.
Hu-Friedy’s large sales and customer care team, supported by a strong marketing organization, will enhance Cantel’s commercial and customer engagement capabilities. The acquisition will also enhance the dental division’s supply chain efficiency and enable it to better support its distribution partners while also addressing the increased concern among healthcare professionals in the areas of clinical performance, compliance, technology, education and training. Finally, the acquisition will further help dental professionals eliminate risk and streamline operations to deliver best-in-class patient care.
“The combination of our two dental businesses provides a clear and immediate opportunity to become the leading provider of a ‘Complete Circle of Protection’ offering for instrument reprocessing workflow and infection prevention and compliance solutions in the dental industry,” says George Fotiades, president and chief executive officer of Cantel. “By bringing together our highly complementary dental portfolios, we will create a business that is uniquely positioned to address the most critical workflow needs of our customers while improving patient care. Hu-Friedy brings us the scale, commercial capabilities and portfolio breadth to enable our dental business to be a significant driver of long-term profitable growth for Cantel.”
“We are excited to join forces with Cantel and are looking forward to the opportunities this combination will bring for our customers, employees and other stakeholders,” says Ron Saslow, chairman and chief executive officer of Hu-Friedy. “As a leader in dental instrumentation and instrument management solutions, Hu-Friedy’s combination with the Cantel portfolio of leading infection prevention dental consumables is a perfect match to further enhance our ability to serve our dental customers.”
“Crosstex and Hu-Friedy are both originally family-owned businesses and share a common philosophy of helping dental professionals to create a high-performing, efficient, safe, compliant and well-educated practice,” says Gary Steinberg, president of Crosstex. “We are truly excited about the great opportunities ahead.”
Ken Serota, president of Hu-Friedy, and Saslow, will lead the combined dental business post-closing. Gary Steinberg, who has successfully built the Cantel dental division since the acquisition of Crosstex, will assist in the post-close transition and integration of these two businesses and will retire at the end of the calendar year.
The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, and is expected to close by the fall of 2019.
Wondering how this will affect the HF I’ve come to know and love. Bigger is not always better. Fingers crossed and hoping for the best.