Alcami Corp., a drug development and manufacturing company previously headquartered in Wilmington, announced Friday that it has reached an agreement to be acquired by Madison Dearborn Partners LLC (MDP).

MDP, a private equity firm based in Chicago, will acquire a majority ownership position in Alcami from existing shareholder Ares Capital Corp. (NASDAQ: ARCC), according to a news release.

Alcami's management team, led by CEO, President and Chairman Stephan Kutzer, will continue to guide the company. The transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2018, pending customary closing conditions, the announcement stated.

There are no plans for immediate change to its Durham headquarters or any of its other sites, according to Catherine Hanley, senior director of Marketing and Corporate Communications for Alcami. The acquisition will not change operations in Wilmington, she said Friday, adding that the company will be conducting “business as usual” here.

Wilmington is where it all started for the company, back when it was still AAIPharma, Hanley said. In 2009, AAI Pharma was purchased by another Chicago-based private equity firm Water Street Healthcare Partners.

Since the merger between AAIPharma Services Corp. and Cambridge Major Laboratories Inc. in late 2013, later becoming Alcami in 2016, “the focus has really been on growing the business,” Hanley said.

“Our focus is really on the growth of the business and in all of our business areas. And North Carolina is certainly a very important part of that for us,” Hanley said. The impact of having a sponsor will bring “more potential for growth for the company overall, and in Wilmington,” she said.

Hanley said the Wilmington site is about 40 percent of the company’s business. The company had 454 employees when the Greater Wilmington Business Journal reached out to the company for its 2018 Book on Business.

“Right now, we have all of our services, except for our active pharmaceutical ingredients services, in Wilmington. So, it's certainly an important hub for us,” Hanley said. “It’s a good location between Charleston, and Durham … having those sites in Charleston and Durham that are within easy driving distance from Wilmington certainly helps the business. And we also have drug product here, we have packaging here, we have manufacturing, and we have laboratory services as well. And the labs here are really science driven and they work on multiple products. So really, we have an end-to-end offering here, in Wilmington, as well."

The company’s name will also remain the same, she said, adding “That's one of the greatest benefits, in my opinion, of getting a new sponsor in a private equity space. You know we've built this brand and obviously spent a lot of time and effort ... so we are excited to keep the Alcami name and to grow that name as a brand in the market. And that's something that Madison Dearborn, having them as a partner, will certainly help us do.”

"The entire Alcami team is excited to further enhance and evolve the small to mid-size pharma growth engine. As we enter our next stage of progress as a leading global, clinically-focused and fully-integrated contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), we are proud to partner with MDP to expand our talented employee base and further develop our capabilities. There's no doubt we will continue to serve our clients with dedication, innovative solutions, and our unique, flexible, transparent, and proactive approach," Kutzer said in the news release. "MDP's extensive experience and strong relationships in the health care and life sciences sectors make them an ideal partner. Looking forward, we will continue to be guided by prioritizing efficient, rapid, and reliable development, while delivering the highest quality and best customer experience in the industry."

Alcami is now headquartered within Research Triangle Park in Durham but has 10 locations across the globe, including in Wilmington. Last year, the company formally scrapped plans for a major expansion in Wilmington, giving up a $500,000 local incentives package that would have come with that growth.

In Friday's release, Tim Sullivan, a managing director and head of MDP's Health Care team, said, "We are excited to support Stephan, Alcami's world-class management team, and its highly committed employee base. They have a demonstrated ability to grow organically, deliver outstanding customer service, and respond to changing industry dynamics. They have recently completed significant capital expenditure programs to add further services and capabilities, and today the company has a highly diversified product portfolio with industry leading positions in fast-growing market segments."