Europe-based private equity firm 3i to buy Q Holding

Twinsburg, Ohio — US precision moulded rubber and silicone components maker Q Holding Co. is expected to be bought over by a Europe-based private equity firm 3i Group PLC by mid to late December.

The group, with strong foundations in Europe, plans to purchase the company and its three operating businesses — Qure Medical, QSR, and Quadra Tooling and Automation — from Industrial Growth Partners for an estimated $160 million.

Q Holding's management team and work force of about 1,100 will remain intact. The firm operates six manufacturing facilities in the US and China, selling products in more than 50 countries, and has a sales and engineering office in Germany.

Richard Relyea, a 3i North America partner based in New York, said Q Holding “is an excellent business and a global leader in the majority of its product categories. It's well positioned in the markets it serves.”

Relyea said there are excellent growth opportunities for Q Holding not only in the US but in Mexico, Europe and China.

The acquisition is expected to help both companies expand their markets as Q Holding has a strong representation in NAFTA countries and China while 3i has a stronghold in England and Europe.

According to Q Holding’s CEO Randy Ross: “Next logical step is to put a manufacturing operation in place in Europe, Ross said. Both QSR—a maker of automotive, industrial and aerospace rubber goods, such as connector seals and ignition insulators — and Qure Medical — a producer of elastomeric products, including catheters and syringe plungers, for the medical and pharmaceutical industries — can operate out of the same facility.”