The Riverside Co. has invested in Censis Technologies Inc., a specialized software company in the health care sector.

Censis, headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee, provides software to track surgical instruments and provide workflow services related to sterilizing instruments at hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers. Health care software providers have been attracting buyer attention because companies are looking to pare down costs and improve efficiencies now that the Affordable Care Act is bringing more patients into the U.S. health care system. For more, see "5 Technologies Drive Health Care M&A." 

“As hospitals face the increasing demands of more regulation and the need to be more efficient while delivering exceptional care, the service Censis provides will become even more valuable,” says Riverside partner Brian Sauer. Riverside's investment in the company should help it expand in the U.S. and internationally, as the private equity firm will look for strategic add-on acquisitions.

PNC and Saratoga Partners provided financing for the deal. Jones Day and Deloitte advised Riverside. Triple Tree provided financial advice to Censis.

For Cleveland and New York-based Riverside, which is run by co-CEOs Stewart Kohl and Béla Szigethy, the deal adds to a busy year. Kohl and Szigethy won Mergers & Acquisitions M&A Mid-Market Dealmakers of the Year award for 2013. 

In July, Riverside picked up Dean Alert as an add-on acquisition for Emergency Communications Network LLC. Before that, the firm closed a $350 million micro-cap fund that will operate as a small business investment company. In June, Riverside acquired Global Orthopaedic Technologies to add to its health care portfolio. 

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