Exclusive: Arlington closes $1.45bn sale of Riverpoint Medical to Novanta
Medical components manufacturer Novanta has closed its $1.45 billion acquisition of Riverpoint Medical, a developer of advanced surgical products, from Arlington Capital Partners, PE Hub is the first to report.
Per the sales agreement, which was announced in June, Novanta will pay $1.2 billion upfront in cash and will pay an additional $250 million milestone payment in the first quarter of 2027.
To learn more about the sale, PE Hub spoke with Arlington managing partner Matt Altman in an exclusive interview.
Based in Portland, Oregon, Riverpoint develops and manufactures specialized surgical threads and other surgical consumables made of fiber-based, polymer and bioabsorbable materials for minimally invasive procedures, including sports injury repair, trauma and heart surgery. Riverpoint sells the products to original equipment managers (OEMs), who resell them under their brands, and also manages the entire 510(k) clearance process, saving OEMs time and costs for bringing products to market.
“Riverpoint has a very scarce capability that is in great demand among large OEMs, compared to a basic computer numerical control metal machine company that is more of a commodity manufacturer where capacity is much greater,” said Altman. “If you can deliver a scarce capability in a resilient way that can be depended upon by the OEMs, and you’ve got capacity to grow with your partners, that’s of great demand in terms of strategic interest and private equity.”
Under Arlington, which invested in the company in 2019, Riverpoint’s revenue has grown at a rate of nearly 20 percent CAGR consistently, and the company has more than tripled in size, primarily through organic growth. This included expanding company leadership, enhancing commercial capabilities, scaling manufacturing operations in the US and expanding into new markets via Costa Rica’s nearshore medical manufacturing hub.
Riverpoint made one tuck-in acquisition, buying surgical products manufacturer CP Medical from Theragenics in 2024, which added complementary tools and CP Medical’s customer base.
The sale provides Novanta with a similar customer base to its own, a new set of technologies, a domestic FDA-approved manufacturing base and exposure to medical consumables – a strategic objective of Novanta’s, according to Altman. “It’s a great strategic and cultural fit. It was financially accretive and will enable Riverpoint to continue going forward at its level of growth, if not even stronger.”
More sales to come
Growing pressure on sponsors to liquify backlogs of assets is expected to accelerate deal volume and activity in the second half of 2026, according to Altman. At the same time, the disconnect between seller expectations and what buyers are willing to spend has narrowed, creating more confidence among sellers of premium assets like Riverpoint to transact.
“I see the exit environment being a mix of both strong buyer interest from the private equity community as well as strategic buyers,” said Altman. “I would say it is bifurcated in that the high-quality assets are receiving very strong interest and being accorded premium valuations. Not where we were in 2021 at peak valuations, but very healthy and very premium valuations.”
Also driving exits are carve-outs, driven by strategics divesting assets that do not align with the core areas of their business. Public market stock prices have also reached near record highs, driven by big technology hyperscalers, and are seeing attractive valuations for smaller and mid-market public healthcare companies, which is driving take-privates.
And while not on the same level as PE and strategic transactions, the IPO market is experiencing a healthy appetite for rapidly growing, well-positioned healthcare businesses.
“Our perspective is that we’re not entering a broad, indiscriminate risk-on environment in the back half of 2026, but there’s a very real and significant and growing buyer interest in the broader healthcare transaction environment as well as the healthcare manufacturing landscape,” said Altman.
“I think the best assets are going to continue to command premium valuations and challenged assets are going to take longer to trade or require constructive and creative structures. But broadly speaking, we see a very stable, conducive transaction environment across the healthcare landscape heading into the back half of this year.”
