Innova Canada is Part of Private Equity Acquisition

Thursday, May 12 2022 | 11 h 51 min | News

Cornell Capital LLC, a private equity firm based in New York and Hong Kong, announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Advancing Eyecare, a leading, North America-based provider of ophthalmic instruments to independent eyecare practitioners, national chains, hospitals, teaching institutions and others, from Atlantic Street Capital.

Advancing Eyecare is headquartered in Jacksonville, FL, and comprised of market-leading brands in eyecare instrumentation, including Lobart Instrument, Marco Ophthalmic, Innova Medical, and S4Optik.

 Atlantic Street Capital, formed Advancing Eyecare Holdings with the partnership of its portfolio companies Lombart Instrument (Lombart), and Marco Ophthalmic Inc (Marco) in 2019. At the time of formation, INNOVA had already been part of the Advancing Eyecare group.

INNOVA Medical Ophthalmics has been supplying the Canadian ophthalmic community with a comprehensive line of diagnostic instruments, supplies, and support through factory-trained technicians and customer service representatives for over 30 years. They have facilities in Toronto and the Montreal area.

INNOVA represents several well-known brands in the Canadian equipment and diagnostic equipment markets, including Nidek, REICHERT, HAAG-STREIT and others.

In a statement issued today, Cornell Capital said it has “extensive experience partnering with strong management teams to drive growth, scale infrastructure and capitalize on opportunities across new markets. The firm said it intends to work closely with Advancing Eyecare’s current management team, led by chief executive officer Brad Staley, chief financial officer David Clay and chief strategy officer David Spear, to execute on “a shared vision and build on the significant momentum and investments the company has made in fostering a culture of authenticity, accountability, transparency and winning.”

Commenting on the acquisition, Stephen Trevor, partner at Cornell Capital, remarked, “AEC’s broad portfolio of innovative products and world class service and tech support have positioned the company as a leader in the attractive multibillion dollar ophthalmic products and services market. As the demand for eyecare continues to drive market growth and the industry continues to transition toward more advanced technologies and digital capabilities, AEC is uniquely well suited to meet comprehensive customer needs as an end-to-end service provider.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.