DAYTON, Ohio, US and LONG CRENDON, Buckinghamshire, UK, December 15, 2021 – CSafe Global, the leader in temperature-controlled container solutions for the pharmaceutical industry, announced today that it has acquired Softbox Systems, a provider of passive temperature-controlled packaging solutions for the pharmaceutical, life science and cold chain logistics industries, significantly enhancing CSafe’s passive product portfolio. Together, they will provide the most comprehensive suite of thermal shipping solutions and become a one-stop-shop for all pharmaceutical cold chain shipping needs, enabling delivery of critical temperature-sensitive products, including next generation biologics, cell and gene therapy, and mRNA therapies such as the COVID-19 vaccine.
The combined company, which will operate globally under the CSafe brand, will be the only cold chain platform with an end-to-end active air cargo and passive temperature-controlled packaging business spanning the complete spectrum of cold chain shipping solutions for the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries. Softbox’s well-regarded brands in the passive container space, such as SilverSkin, Silverpod and Tempcell, complement CSafe’s leading active product portfolio, particularly within air cargo. The acquisition will unlock opportunities for innovation as well as enhance CSafe’s sustainable and eco-friendly offerings, with new reusable and recyclable pallet and parcel solutions.
Around the globe, a large industry pipeline of life-saving pharmaceutical therapies with strict temperature profiles is accelerating the need for reliable, temperature-controlled shipping solutions. Moreover, future pharmaceutical advances will require a new generation of qualified fit-for-purpose packaging, along with sophisticated tracking technology, that also helps customers meet their sustainability and recycling goals.
“Through this combination, we will be the partner of choice for cold chain delivery of high value, temperature sensitive pharmaceutical therapies. Both CSafe and Softbox have proven to be reliable partners for customers seeking a secure way to deliver their life-enhancing products around the world,” said Patrick Schafer, CSafe CEO. “We’re thrilled to now offer our customers a platform that provides everything from the highest quality packaging to AI-enabled thermal and kinetic monitoring and logistics management.”
“Our businesses are each rooted in a commitment to excellent customer service and high product quality, which made this combination a natural fit,” said Kevin Valentine, CEO of Softbox. “Together we will proudly continue to partner with our global Pharmaceutical customers to devise and deliver the best solutions for their evolving cold chain shipping needs, supporting the delivery of temperature sensitive lifesaving medicines and vaccines.
“With the addition of Softbox’s product portfolio, CSafe strengthens its global infrastructure across air and ground while expanding its offerings for parcel delivery, all supported by the most advanced technology infrastructure,” said Todd Abbrecht, Co-CEO of Thomas H. Lee Partners, which first invested in CSafe in 2016. “We see an incredible opportunity for the combined company to serve as the international partner of choice for cold chain shipping solutions and remain on the forefront of innovation in the industry.”
“The acquisition of Softbox advances CSafe’s strategy to be the leading cold chain solutions provider with a full suite of products and services to meet the needs of its pharmaceutical customers around the globe,” said Ben Magnano, Co-Managing Partner of Frazier Healthcare Partners. “CSafe is an excellent platform to build upon and we, alongside our partners at THL, will continue to make investments to further strengthen the Company’s leadership position in pharmaceutical cold chain.”
As part of the acquisition, Softbox CEO Kevin Valentine will assume the role of president of CSafe’s Passive Temperature Controlled Packaging Division.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Media Contact:
For CSafe Global and Softbox Systems:
Lori Conaway
+1 405.633.2344
[email protected]
About CSafe Global
CSafe Global provides end-to-end thermal shipping solutions to the pharmaceutical and life science industries worldwide. An industry innovator, CSafe is the only provider of both active and passive solutions and offers AI-enabled lease forecasting to ensure active container availability and real-time shipment visibility for active and passive containers. CSafe provides industry-leading maintenance and reuse programs ensuring superior product performance and alignment with customer sustainability objectives. With a presence in 150 countries, 24/7 support and 100% container availability, CSafe is well-positioned to be the partner of choice in the cold chain. csafeglobal.com
About Softbox
Softbox is an award-winning temperature control packaging innovator that has been designing and producing high performance passive temperature control packaging solutions for over 25 years. We offer consistent quality to our clients from our strategically located global manufacturing sites throughout Europe, Americas, India and Asia Pacific.
We have formed long standing partnerships with the world’s leading pharmaceutical, clinical research, biotech and logistics companies, and apply innovative thinking to overcome the challenges that our clients face in managing the Cold Chain when shipping temperature sensitive clinical trial and commercialised products.
For more information about Softbox, visit www.softboxsystems.com
About Thomas H. Lee Partners
Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P. (“THL”) is a premier private equity firm investing in middle-market growth companies exclusively in three sectors: Financial Services, Healthcare, and Technology & Business Solutions. THL couples deep sector expertise through our Identified Sector Opportunity (“ISO”) process with dedicated internal operating resources from our Strategic Resource Group (“SRG”) to transform and build great companies of lasting value in partnership with management. The Firm’s domain expertise and resources help to build great companies with an aim to accelerate growth, improve operations and drive long-term sustainable value. Since 1974, THL has raised more than $30 billion of equity capital, invested in over 160 companies and completed more than 500 add-on acquisitions representing an aggregate enterprise value at acquisition of over $210 billion. For more information, please visit www.thl.com.
About Frazier Healthcare Partners:
Founded in 1991, Frazier Healthcare Partners is a leading provider of growth and venture capital to healthcare companies. With over $7 billion in total capital raised, Frazier has invested in more than 200 companies with transaction types ranging from buyouts of profitable healthcare services companies to venture capital and company creation. Frazier has a philosophy of partnering with strong management teams while leveraging its internal operating resources and network to build exceptional companies. Frazier has offices in Seattle, WA, and Menlo Park, CA, and invests broadly across the U.S., Canada, and Europe. For more information about Frazier Healthcare Partners, visit www.frazierhealthcare.com.