The Riverside Company announced the sale of BeaconMedaes, a supplier of medical gas distribution systems to Atlas Copco USA Holdings Inc., a North American division of Swedish company Atlas Copco, for $95.5 million. Riverside’s sale of its interest in Beacon supplied investors with a gross IRR of 54% and a gross cash-on-cash return of 5.1 times. Beacon represents Riverside’s eighth realization from its RCAF 2000 fund, which to date has purchased 15 platform companies and 24 add-ons.

Riverside acquired Charlotte, North Carolina-based Beacon Medical Products in 2002. The following year, the firm acquired Beacon’s largest competitor, the medical gas distribution systems division of Hill-Rom, which was comprised of Medaes U.S. and Medaes Ltd. based in the U.K.. The add-on acquisitions led to the formation of BeaconMedaes, a clear worldwide leader with unmatched global presence. With this sale, BeaconMedaes becomes Atlas Copco’s competence center for medical air and medical utility delivery systems as part of Atlas Copco Compressor Technique’s Industrial Air division. The products will be sold under the brand names Atlas Copco, Medaes and BeaconMedaes.

The sale of its interest in BeaconMedaes marks Riverside’s third exit of 2006 and its 26th exit since the firm’s inception in 1988. Working with Bixby on the transaction were Kristin Newhall, Principal, and Chris Jones, Vice President.