Exclusive: Sheridan acquires Carolina Components Group
Later on Tuesday, Sheridan Capital Partners is expected to announce it has acquired Carolina Components Group (CCG), a provider of custom-engineered bioprocessing assemblies and components used in the manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals, for undisclosed terms, PE Hub can reveal. CCG has named Maurice Phelan as the new CEO. CCG founder John Cooling and other executives retain stakes in the company.
To learn more, PE Hub spoke with Sheridan partner and co-founder Sean Dempsey, who led the deal.
Based in Durham, North Carolina, CCG supplies over 250 biopharmaceutical and contract manufacturing businesses with components and single-use assemblies. These are often low-cost but essential applications that if not working properly can cause system failures, according to Dempsey.
“Pharmaceutical companies and contract manufacturers that are running the full process often partner with a lot of the larger OEMs in the space whose incentive is to sell their larger pieces of the process as bundled products,” he said. “But they are really looking for that thought partner that can help optimize their yields in the bioprocessing process to drive the best results and quality – that thought partner that can assess different OEM parts to say, ‘This is what is best for you.’”
Sheridan will evaluate M&A for expanding CCG into areas with historically active biotech and pharmaceutical activity, such as Boston and San Francisco. It also will look outside these traditional biotech hubs, in areas where pharmaceutical companies and CDMOs are planning to build manufacturing facilities.
Additionally, the PE firm sees M&A as a tool for adding new bioprocessing capabilities and products that can help CCG become more of a value-added partner.
To drive organic growth, Sheridan plans to invest in CCG’s existing team. It will look at adding AI and digital capabilities, such as Claude or large language model building programs, to optimize design and procurement processes and assist in sourcing new commercial opportunities.
“Pharma manufacturing is a sector that private equity has continued to show interest in because it is that picks and shovels investment approach around this mega-trend of biologics,” said Dempsey. “At the same time, there are strategics and PE-owned portfolio companies. I think as we continue to scale this asset and because of its reputation in the market, I anticipate we’ll have strong interest in it when we go to sell.”
In the bioprocessing market, spending primarily goes to large pharmaceutical companies and small and mid-size biotechs focused on biologics development. Wanting to avert the regulatory risks associated with biologics, PE investors are instead investing in parts and assembly and outsourced pharma services that support these companies. Also driving investments in these services is increased onshoring of manufacturing, which is leading to the production of more biologics and more capital expenditures.
“Knowing where people are trying to find those value-add business models that can have that recurring relationship, which is obviously present in those sticky, single-use business models tied to drugs with decades-long runways, I think you will continue to see private equity interest in more deals in the coming 12 to 24 months,” said Dempsey.
Sheridan has previously invested in two other outsourced pharma service companies. Most recently it acquired Currier Plastics, a life sciences contract manufacturer, in 2025. In January, Currier acquired two contract manufacturing businesses, Springboard Manufacturing and Mos Plastics, to its portfolio. Sheridan also acquired Advi Health, a healthcare and life sciences consulting firm, in 2022. Advi acquired Partnership for Health Analytic Research in 2024.
