Cremascoli Ortho Group
Our acquisition of the orthopaedic division of Cremascoli helped the company move from being the holding group for a diverse group of subsidiaries operating in individual markets, to a cohesive pan-European business. This complex deal involved squaring the interests of disparate family owners.
Appetite for complexity
We acquired Cremascoli Ortho in 1997 alongside our French partner Financière Natexis. The company made hip, knee and spinal implants from its plant at Toulon, South of France, and distributed its products across Europe. It was particularly well established in Italy, France, Belgium, and the UK.
Encouraging new product development
With our encouragement, Cremascoli Ortho developed innovative new products under licence. These included a patented tri-modular hip stem, the Anca-fit, in conjunction with the Rizzoli Institute in Italy and the 913 knee, developed with the New York Hospital for Special Surgery.
We sold Cremascoli Ortho to Wright Medical in 1999, achieving a satisfactory profit for investors.