Welsh Carson backs Oxford Finance

Ropes & Gray represented private equity firm Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe in a joint commitment with Sumitomo Corporation of America (SCOA) to inject up to $460 million of growth equity in Oxford Finance LLC, a specialty finance firm that provides senior debt to life science and healthcare services companies.

SCOA, and its parent company, Sumitomo Corporation, has held Oxford as a majority-owned subsidiary since 2004. Welsh Carson, a $20 billion private equity firm with a primary focus on the healthcare industry, has invested alongside SCOA in Oxford. Going forward, Oxford will be jointly held by both entities.

The Ropes & Gray deal team was led by New York-based partners Othon Prounis, Leo Arnaboldi.

Ropes & Gray has advised Welsh Carson on other significant transactions in the past year, including representing:

• Welsh Carson in an agreement to purchase a majority interest in Smile Brands Group Inc. from Freeman Spogli & Co.,
• Welsh Carson and Renal Advantage in the sale of Renal Advantage to Liberty Dialysis,
• Welsh Carson-owned US Oncology in its proposed $2.16 billion (including debt) acquisition by McKesson Corp.,
• Welsh Carson, a 44 percent owner of AGA Medical Holdings Inc., in the planned $1.3 billion sale of AGA to St. Jude Medical Inc.,
• Welsh Carson in the sale of Multiplan to BC Partners and Silver Lake Partners,
• GDC Holdings Inc. and Welsh Carson in the acquisition of National Dentex Corporation.