Galen Partners closes fourth fund on $250m

New York-based healthcare investor Galen Partners has closed its fourth fund on $250 million (€204 million).

The new fund is slightly smaller than Galen’s third fund that closed in 1998 on $256 million. According to news reports, the firm’s limited partners include Verizon Asset Management, Daimler Chrysler, GE Equity, HarbourVest Partners, and the Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho.

Galen provides expansion-stage capital to healthcare companies with $10 million to $50 million in revenues, and has made a number of investments with the new fund, including medical imaging company ONI Medical Systems; Chamberlin Edmonds & Associates, a provider of specialized patient-eligibility and cost-recovery services to hospitals; and Lumenos, which helps employers provide custom-tailored health plans for employees.

Galen is one of two healthcare fund closings in the last couple weeks. Greenwich, Connecticut-based Ferrer Freeman & Company recently closed its third healthcare fund on $400 million.

Galen was started in 1990 by co-founders and current general partners William R. Grant and L. John Wilkerson. The firm’s four other GPs include Srini Conjeevaram, David Jahns, Zubeen Shroff and Bruce Wesson.

Just this week, Galen-held Encore Medical agreed to buy orthopedic medical products company Empi from The Carlyle Group for $360 million. Encore Medical will pay $325 million of the deal price in cash. The Austin-based company will issue Carlyle 8 million shares of Encore Medical common stock as well, giving the firm a stake of approximately 12 percent in the company, and making Carlyle the second largest stakeholder in the company, behind Galen.