Iron Path Capital has acquired Boulder Scientific Company from Quad-C Management, marking the first investment from Iron Path Capital Fund II, a $450 million private equity fund.
Boulder Scientific manufactures high-performance organometallic compounds and provides complex synthetic chemistry capabilities. The company operates two facilities in Colorado and serves customers in the U.S. and international markets.
Established in 1961 and headquartered in Longmont, Colorado, the company supplies specialty chemicals to the polyolefin, microelectronics, semiconductor, pharmaceutical, aerospace, and defense industries.
Boulder Scientific’s organometallic compounds are used primarily as metallocene catalysts in polyolefin production. The company also manufactures activators, ligands, co-catalysts, pyrophoric materials, and compounds that are sensitive to air and moisture.
Iron Path plans to partner with Boulder Scientific’s existing management team and provide capital, operating experience, business development support, and industry relationships.
The private equity firm expects those resources to support investment in Boulder Scientific’s technical and production capabilities. Growth priorities include advanced catalysts, electronics, aerospace and defense, and life sciences.
The acquisition fits Iron Path’s strategy of investing in specialized lower-middle-market businesses that sell technical products and services into highly regulated markets.
The firm focuses on specialty chemicals and materials, engineered products and solutions, and technical services. Its operating approach is intended to help portfolio companies achieve greater scale through investment, commercial development, and process improvements.
Boulder Scientific’s technical expertise and manufacturing requirements create barriers to entry, while its presence across several regulated and growing industries gives the company multiple avenues for expansion.
The partnership follows a period under Quad-C’s ownership in which Boulder Scientific invested in production capacity, leadership, and commercial capabilities. Iron Path will now support the company’s next phase while management continues serving existing customers and entering new markets.
KEY QUOTES
“Boulder Scientific is a differentiated, technically driven business that clearly aligns with our strategy of partnering with technical companies that have unique capabilities. We are excited to partner with the management team in the Company’s next phase of growth and look forward to supporting continued investment in its capabilities and expansion into existing and new end markets.”
Rob Reistetter, Managing Partner at Iron Path Capital
“The Boulder Scientific team is excited to partner with Iron Path Capital as we execute on our commitment to deliver outstanding science and support to existing and new customers in the target markets that we serve. We are highly optimistic that our growth plans in advanced catalysts, electronics, aerospace and defense, and life sciences will be enhanced through collaboration with Iron Path and the resources available to support Boulder’s continued growth.”
Rich Preziotti, Chief Executive Officer of Boulder Scientific Company
