Sterling Capital Partners has purchased a controlling interest in Wilmington, DE-based Optimer, Inc. from its founders, the J.W. Moore family.


The acquisition, formalized this month will infuse Optimer, Inc. with added funding to help promote and expand sales of its research, development and consulting services. It will also help support and protect OPF’s patents and trademarks.


“We first became acquainted with Sterling in 2006 while working with them to develop a fire retardant version of Dri-release for one of their divisions,” says Dr. John W. Moore, CEO and spokesman for the Moore family, founders of Optimer, Inc. “We chose the company to join us because of their unparalleled success in helping grow companies like ours.”


An affiliate of Sterling Partners, Sterling Capital Partners is a middle-market private equity fund with over $3 billion under management. Sterling has offices in Chicago and Baltimore and pursues growth-oriented investments in a broad range of industries from education to textiles to health care.

Optimer, Inc. is best known for its Optimer Performance Fibers division that markets Dri-release with FreshGuard, a patented moisture release and odor blocking textile technology. Dri-release technology, licensed worldwide, is used primarily in performance activewear from over 100 prominent brands such as Adidas, Polo Ralph Lauren and Hanes.


“Our customers appreciate the fact that we place service and our relationship with them ahead of everything and are not what you’d call a corporate bureaucracy,” says Karen Deniz, OPF’s managing director of marketing. “Everyone knows they can get answers and even test results within 24 hours on any given day. Not only will that not change, we are looking to Sterling to enable us to be even more responsive while broadening our sales base.”


Optimer, Inc. conducts both internal and contract research, development and consulting projects involving advanced polymer technologies, fiber and fabric processes, environmental protection, health promotion and much more. The company’s accomplishments are widespread and include such diverse results as gaskets for road construction equipment, to flexible high strength composite watchbands, to fibers containing carbon nanotubes that help control astronauts’ body temperature during spacewalks.