SYRACUSE — Syracuse engineering firm OBG will become part of the Americas business unit of the Ramboll Group, a Danish engineering firm, in an acquisition that takes effect on Jan. 1.

OBG, previously known as O’Brien & Gere, is based in the Washington Station building at 333 W. Washington St. in Syracuse’s Armory Square.

Ramboll, headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, didn’t disclose the acquisition price or any other terms of the deal in its Dec. 17 news release announcing the deal. It did say that OBG investors overwhelmingly approved of the sale with more than 91 percent of OBG shares cast in favor of the deal.

The sale has been in the works for a while, according to the leader of the Syracuse company.

“We’ve really been in discussions in earnest for about a year,” says Jim Fox, CEO of OBG, who spoke with CNYBJ on Dec. 17.

With the new acquisition doubling its size in the U.S., Ramboll is establishing a new business unit for the Americas covering the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Brazil with services in water, energy, environment, and health. OBG’s Fox will lead the new business unit as managing director, beginning on Jan. 1.

The Ramboll Group adds 900 employees within water, energy, environment, and advanced-manufacturing services in the deal. Ramboll intends to retain all OBG employees and offices, says Fox.

OBG didn’t seek out this deal and wasn’t looking to sell, says Fox. “We’re performing extremely well as a company,” he notes.

Fox went on to say that Ramboll’s “expression of interest” provided a chance for OBG to compare strategies to see if the firm had the chance to “accelerate our own growth strategy, extend our client relationships, both nationally and globally … and to add very complementary thought leadership and capabilities, not to mention the additional resources to support our growth strategy.”

OBG sees Ramboll as a “really like-minded and culturally aligned organization” with a similar focus on clients and people.

“Those two things, strategy and culture, were really the things that we felt matched up very well,” says Fox.

With the acquisition, Ramboll now has 2,000 employees in the U.S. and 15,000 workers globally. The Danish firm hopes the new business unit will grow from the current 2,000 employees to between 3,000 and 4,000 U.S. employees in four to five years.

At the time of the acquisition’s closing, the combined revenue of Ramboll and OBG will be $2 billion, the Danish firm said.

Besides its Syracuse headquarters, OBG has New York state offices in Clay, Binghamton, Albany, Rochester, Utica, Lindenhurst, White Plains, and New York City, according to its website. In addition to New York, OBG also has offices in 10 other states. 

Moving forward

As of Jan. 1, OBG will refer to itself as part of the Ramboll Group, so it’ll be a “joint message,” says Fox. 

“We look to transition our brand as appropriate based on the strength of OBG’s brand in some areas and the strength of Ramboll’s brand in other areas … through the course of 2019. 

When asked if the OBG brand might be phased out beyond 2019, Fox says that he would use the term “phased in.”

“OBG will phase into more of a Ramboll brand, and I think that is our objective,” says Fox. “We’re very much transitioning, and the real test is when our clients are comfortable and then we’ll be more comfortable transitioning fully to Ramboll.”

The acquisition of OBG is an “exciting step forward in Ramboll’s strategic ambition to grow in the U.S. and strengthen” its portfolio within water, energy, and environmental services, “making Ramboll a multidisciplinary player in the U.S.,” the firm contends. 

“We are very excited to be welcoming OBG’s 900 experts to Ramboll,” Jens-Peter Saul, Group CEO, said in the release. “Growing in North America has been a strategic priority for us since we established our U.S. presence in 2014 with the successful acquisition of [Arlington, Virginia–based] ENVIRON.”

With OBG, Saul contends the Ramboll Group can build on the platform it has developed in the U.S. OBG’s Fox says the deal provides OBG the opportunity to broaden its customer base across the U.S. and globally.

UTICA — ConMed Corp. (NASDAQ: CNMD), a Utica–based surgical-device maker, is looking ahead to the first quarter of 2019 when it expects to close on its acquisition of privately held Buffalo Filter LLC for $365 million.

Buffalo Filter is a “globally recognized brand in surgical safety,” a firm that specializes in surgical-smoke evacuation products, ConMed said in a news release. 

The acquired company is located in the Buffalo suburb of Lancaster. It is part of the Oak Brook, Illinois–based Filtration Group, per its LinkedIn page.

The transaction is expected to be financed through a combination of new convertible notes and an expanded and amended credit facility, ConMed said.

In the news release, Curt Hartman, president and CEO of ConMed, called the acquisition a “strong strategic fit” with the company’s general-surgery portfolio. He also spoke that day in a conference call with analysts and investors about the acquisition.

“Augmenting our product portfolio with innovative surgical solutions and technologies has been a strategic priority for ConMed. Buffalo Filter’s smoke evacuation and filtration equipment will enhance our advance-surgical offering by adding category-leading smoke-evacuation products targeting open surgical procedures to our [offerings],” Hartman said on the call.

“Additionally, … we are thrilled with the financial benefits that we expect this acquisition to drive on both the top and bottom line, further positioning us to achieve long-term, profitable growth,” Hartman added. 

United Kingdom–based Barclays Capital is acting as financial advisor, New York City–based Sullivan & Cromwell LLP is the legal counsel, and J.P. Morgan, also headquartered in New York City, is leading the financing for ConMed in connection with the transaction, the company said. 

New York City–based Goldman Sachs is acting as financial advisor and Los Angeles, California–based Paul Hastings LLP is acting as legal counsel for Filtration Group in connection with the transaction, per the ConMed release.

Surgical smoke

Hartman also used the conference call to provide background on surgical smoke and why ConMed believes the use of smoke-evacuation products will continue to increase both in the U.S. and abroad. 

“Surgical smoke … is a dangerous byproduct generated in 95 percent of all surgical procedures as energy-based devices such as lasers, electro-surgical pencils, and ultra-sonic devices, many of which we sell, cauterize vessels and vaporize tissue, fluid and blood. 

“In the U.S., more than 500,000 health-care workers per year are exposed to this dangerous byproduct, which has been known to cause respiratory and eye irritation as well as nausea, and ash has the same carcinogenic effects as cigarette smoke,” Hartman said. 

Despite these health and safety risks, surgical-smoke evacuation products are currently used in just 5 percent of the procedures in the U.S. and less than 2 percent of the procedures internationally. 

ConMed believes Buffalo Filter is well-positioned to take advantage of the rapidly evolving market opportunity as adoption begins to increase. 

“Driving the increased adoption is the fact that states are beginning to explore legislation that protects operating-room employees from the dangers of surgical smoke,” Hartman explained. 

Rhode Island recently became the first state to pass smoke-evacuation legislation, while California and Colorado have recently introduced similar legislation, he noted. On the international front, a “handful of countries,” including Australia, Canada, Holland, Great Britain, and New Zealand have either begun exploring or have already passed legislation recommending or mandating smoke evacuation. 

“Looking forward, we see significant opportunities to capitalize on the growing demand for smoke-evacuation products,” said Hartman. “We believe that we’ll be able to take this technology to the next level.”  

About Buffalo Filter

Founded in 1991, Buffalo Filter develops surgical-smoke evacuation technologies, ConMed said. The company’s product portfolio includes smoke-evacuation pencils, smoke evacuators, and laparoscopic products.

“We are excited to join ConMed and continue our mission of improving safety in the operating room,” Samantha Bonano, president and CEO of Buffalo Filter, said in the ConMed release. “We believe that the combination of our dedicated teams, as well as our proven research and development expertise, will enable us to continue to bring best-in-class smoke-evacuation products to a growing global market.”

GEDDES — Metro Mattress, a Geddes–based mattress retailer with stores across upstate New York, is ending 2018 under new ownership.

David Shiroff, the firm’s former president and CEO, announced that he has sold his interest in the mattress retailer to “other existing shareholders,” per a news release Shiroff forwarded to CNYBJ on Dec. 12. 

The unnamed shareholders have been involved with the chain for more than 30 years, the company said.

The news release, titled “Business as usual at Metro Mattress,” didn’t offer transaction details such as financial terms, and Shiroff declined to be interviewed.

 “Over the course of the last 18 years, it has been my distinct privilege to serve as president & CEO of Metro Mattress, building Metro into one of the preeminent specialty bedding retailers in the history of the industry,” Shiroff contended.

Shiroff will be leaving the company to pursue other interests outside of the industry and in another region. The firm’s news release didn’t provide other specifics.

“It is bittersweet for my family and I to leave the [Central New York] community,” he said.

FurnitureToday reports that Shiroff has accepted an offer to become a partner and CEO of a “rapidly expanding solar energy company” based in Scottsdale, Arizona, citing a posting Shiroff made on his Facebook page.

Jason Mehl, current CFO of Metro Mattress, has been named the new company CEO, per the release. 

“Jason has been an integral component of Metro Mattress’ senior management team for over 15 years,” said Shiroff. “He knows every aspect of the business and his vast leadership experience will allow Metro Mattress to continue operating with no disruption whatsoever. I’m pleased to report that I am leaving Metro as a profitable, strong company with a bright future ahead in both the short, medium and long term.”

Metro Mattress said it is currently exploring new markets including its first stores outside New York, along with an “increased expansion through various online opportunities.”

Metro Mattress is a 52-store chain serving the Syracuse, Albany, Buffalo,  Rochester regions along with Northern New York and the Southern Tier. Its headquarters are located on John Glenn Boulevard in the town of Geddes.