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News
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Release No. 1003-10
October 2, 2003
Ballast Point Venture Partners
announces investment in PDSHeart, Inc.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Ballast Point Venture Partners (“BPV”), a venture capital firm affiliated with Raymond James Financial, Inc., today announced it has closed an equity investment in PDSHeart, Inc. (“PDS”). BPV, along with certain of the Fund’s limited partners, led an investment of $5.0 million in the company, which will be used to fund expansion of the business.
PDS, based in West Palm Beach, Fla., is a leading provider of cardiac event monitoring services in the United States. The company provides physician-prescribed diagnostic and monitoring services to non-symptomatic, symptomatic and post surgical cardiac patients via landline, cellular telephone and the Internet. The company was founded in 2000 and has grown rapidly to become one of the largest providers of cardiac monitoring services in the country, serving more than 80,000 patients in 44 states.
PDS is led by co-founders Sean G. Heyniger, chief executive officer, and J. Greig McCully, chief operating officer. The management team is made up of former senior officers at PSS World Medical, a $1.2 billion medical supply company based in Jacksonville, Fla. PDS currently has 120 employees and operates a substantial operations center in Conyers, Ga., in addition to its West Palm Beach location. “We are delighted to have Ballast Point Ventures as a partner. This transaction provides us the financial strength and flexibility to continue our aggressive growth plans and capitalize on favorable market opportunities,” said Heyniger. “In addition to the financial commitment, Ballast Point’s network and experience working with rapidly growing private companies will be invaluable to us as we continue to build PDS.”
Richard J. Brandewie, a managing partner with BPV, will join the company’s board of directors, which currently includes Patrick Kelly, the founder of PSS World Medical, and Peter Callahan, the former CEO of American Media. Brandewie, who has invested in numerous private health care companies, remarked, “PDS has done an excellent job establishing itself as a market leader in the cardiac monitoring industry in a very short period of time. We are excited to be partnering with the PDS team, who has demonstrated the ability to manage substantial growth while also achieving profitability. Our investment in PDS reflects the BPV strategy of providing expansion capital to rapidly growing, well managed companies in the Southeast and Texas.”
About PDSHeart, Inc.
PDSHeart is the nation’s first telemedicine company to achieve accreditation from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). Founded in 2000, it is the second largest provider of cardiac event monitoring services in the United States. It provides the highest quality, physician-prescribed remote and ambulatory care monitoring of non-symptomatic, symptomatic and post surgical cardiac patients, via landline, cellular telephone and the Internet. PDSHeart’s WebHolter® is the industry’s first Web-based digital Holter system. For more information visit the company’s website at www.pdsheart.com.
About Ballast Point Ventures, L.P.
Ballast Point Ventures, L.P. is a venture capital fund established to provide expansion capital for rapidly growing, privately owned companies in diverse industries, with a particular emphasis on companies located in Florida, the Southeast and Texas. The BPV partners have more than 60 years of combined experience investing in and building high-growth companies in a number of industries, including health care, business services, communications, technology, consumer products and specialty retail. The Fund seeks to make equity investments ranging in size from $1.0 million to $5.0 million.
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For additional information visit www.ballastpointventures.com
or contact Richard J. Brandewie, Drew A. Graham
or Paul C. Johan at 727-567-1500.