PITTSBURGH —Incline Equity Partners (formerly PNC Equity) and portfolio company Orthotic Holdings, Inc. (“OHI”) announced today the acquisition of Arizona AFO, Inc., a leading manufacturer of custom leather ankle foot orthotics (“AFOs”) for the treatment of foot disorders.
Arizona AFO, headquartered in Mesa, AZ, was the first company to develop and patent an ankle brace for the treatment of posterior tibial tendon dysfunction “PTTD”, thus eliminating the need for surgery. Today, the Arizona AFO brand is synonymous with high quality and recognized throughout the industry. The Company sells a variety of AFO products to more than 1,000 orthotists and prosthetists (“O&P”) practitioners in North America.
“The acquisition of Arizona AFO is a perfect example of Incline Equity Partners’ strategy of enhancing value through acquisitions. Arizona AFO is the third add-on to OHI since our initial investment in 2008 and we will continue to expand OHI through both organic growth and future acquisitions,” said Jack Glover, founding partner of Incline Equity Partners.
Incline Equity Partners initially invested in OHI, then known as The Orthotic Group, in August 2008. Prior acquisitions included the custom foot orthotics division of Langer Biomechanics in 2008 and Toronto-based River Biomechanics in 2010.
Charlie Rossetti, Senior Associate of Incline Equity Partners, added, “Arizona AFO’s west coast presence, best-in-class manufacturing capabilities, and access to the O&P channel will significantly enhance the OHI platform, allowing it to better serve the lower limb orthotic market.”
Based in Markham, Ontario, Orthotic Holdings is a leading manufacturer and distributor of custom prescription orthotics, orthotic footwear, and gait analysis equipment for health care professionals.
“This is a wonderful addition to OHI as Arizona AFO is recognized as the market and brand leader in gauntlet AFO’s in North America,” said Bruce Marrison, CEO of Orthotic Holdings. “We are very excited to combine the strength of Arizona AFO’s management team with the existing teams at The Orthotic Group and Langer to further build our respective market leading positions.”
The transaction was led by Glover; Rossetti; and Dave Hamerling, Associate of Incline Equity Partners.
About Incline Equity Partners
Incline Equity Partners focuses on making private equity investments of $10 million to $30 million in leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations and large minority financings of lower middle market growth companies with enterprise values between $25 million and $100 million across a variety of industry sectors including specialized light manufacturing, value-added distribution, and business and industrial services.