PE-backed Registrar Corp buys Vinca

Registrar Corp, which is backed by Bertram Capital, has acquired Vinca LLC, a provider of online training for food safety management systems. No financial terms were disclosed.

PRESS RELEASE

FOSTER CITY, Calif., March 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Registrar Corp, a leading provider of U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) compliance services, announced its acquisition of Vinca, LLC (www.22000-Tools.com). Vinca has provided online training for food safety management systems since 2001. Over 10,000 global users have utilized their 100% online courses, which cover topics including ISO 22000, FSSC 22000, SQF, ISO 9001, GFSI, FSMA, and more. Registrar is a portfolio company of Bertram Capital (“Bertram”). Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“We have heard from our clients that they want additional online training opportunities,” said Registrar Corp President David Lennarz. “With the global coronavirus pandemic causing in-person education to be cancelled, we are particularly excited to add Vinca’s training courses to our suite of FDA compliance solutions.”

Lennarz said that users will be able to access Vinca’s library of online courses via MyFDA, Registrar Corp’s online compliance management system. Currently, food facilities can use their MyFDA account to manage their FDA registration, submit Prior Notice filings, and monitor their FDA compliance status. “MyFDA was built to be a one-stop shop for our clients to manage their FDA compliance needs,” Lennarz continued. “Encompassing the online training is the next logical step toward that goal.”

“We continue to invest in our businesses during these challenging times to ensure we are positioned for success moving forward,” said Tom Beerle, Partner at Bertram. “Complementing our robust product offering with online training capabilities has been a strategic priority for Registrar since we first invested in the company. Food safety remains a critical focus globally and Vinca’s high quality curriculum enables food professionals to gain access to training when convenient for them without the added cost or burden of travel.”

Vinca Co-Presidents Cynthia Weber and Betsy Hsiao will stay on as part of the Registrar Corp team and continue to develop new coursework. “Registrar Corp has the global scale and expertise to take Vinca’s offerings to the next level,” Weber said. “I am excited to focus fully on content creation, in addition to launching our outstanding courses into multiple languages.”

Weber brings a wealth of additional experience to the Registrar Corp workforce. She is a certified ISO 22000 and FSSC 22000 Lead Assessor and has performed certification audits nationwide. She is also a registered SQF trainer and consultant, an EQIPT qualified packaging auditor, and a Lead Instructor for the FSMA Preventive Controls courses for human and animal food. “We are pleased to welcome Cynthia and Betsy to the team,” Lennarz said. “In addition to expanding on the online coursework offerings, we have discussed utilizing Cynthia’s Lead Instructor role to offer live PCQI certification courses.”

Vinca marks Registrar Corp’s second acquisition of 2020, and sixth overall. “We continue to seek opportunities to meet our client’s compliance needs,” Lennarz said. “Not only in the food industry, but in the drug and device sectors as well.”

About Registrar Corp
Registrar Corp was founded in 2003 to help businesses comply with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations. Since opening its headquarters in Hampton, Virginia, USA, Registrar Corp has expanded to 20 worldwide offices and has aided more than 30,000 companies across 160 countries. Employees include former U.S. FDA officials, scientists, and industry experts.

About Bertram Capital
Bertram Capital is a private equity firm targeting investments in lower middle market companies. Since its inception in 2006, the firm has raised funds in excess of $1.4B in capital commitments. In addition to supplying strategic growth capital, Bertram Capital leverages proprietary processes and services, Bertram High-5SM and Bertram Labs, to empower its portfolio companies to unlock their full business potential. The Bertram High-5SM is an operationally-focused value creation strategy, which includes management augmentation, operational initiative implementation, complementary business acquisition, sales and marketing improvements, and leveraging technology and IP. The cornerstone of this strategy is Bertram Labs, its in-house technology team, which drives growth and value through digital marketing, e-commerce, big data and analytics, application development, and internal and external platform optimization. Visit www.bcap.com for more information.