Compass Group Equity Partners, a St. Louis-based private equity firm, announced its partnership with The Illuminate Group, a Tampa-based cold chain design and management provider. The transaction is the culmination of Compass Group's multiyear efforts to lock arms with an innovative founder-led team with a strong runway for growth in the rapidly expanding pharmaceutical cold chain sector.

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The Illuminate Group is a Tampa-based cold chain logistics company specializing in the last-mile, mail-order pharmacies and pharmaceutical manufacturing industries. Founded in 2012, The Illuminate Group delivers specialized expertise to its customers through passive packaging design and engineering, product testing and logistics services.

Founded in 2012, The Illuminate Group excels in solving cold chain packaging and logistical challenges for some of the largest mail-order pharmacy and pharmaceutical manufacturing companies in the United States. Illuminate delivers specialized expertise to its customers through innovative packaging design and engineering, product testing and logistics services.

"It was clear from our first conversation with Illuminate that they have a unique value proposition in the cold chain industry," said Maureen Dwyer, vice president at Compass Group. "Illuminate is a trusted provider that demonstrates quality, reliability and savings for its customers through its industry expertise and proprietary products."

Illuminate's success is a testament to its highly regarded leadership team, including industry veterans and co-founders Melissa Germain, M.Sc., CEO, and Jean-Pierre Emond, Ph.D., COO, who bring more than 45 years of combined applied research, design and teaching experience at renowned universities and research centers.

“This collaboration will provide us with the resources and strategic support to expand our reach, enhance our innovative solutions, and continue to deliver our hallmark white-glove customer service and exceptional value to our customers," said CEO Melissa Germain.

“We’ve found great partners in the Compass Group team,” added COO Dr. Jean-Pierre Emond. “We believe this alignment will be deeply beneficial for both our customers and employees, enabling us to continue innovating in the cold chain industry. We’ll be able to expand our team with likeminded individuals dedicated to reimagining how the world moves temperature-sensitive products — guided by scientific rigor, committed to uncompromising reliability and inspired by a bold vision for breakthrough innovation.”

The partnership will accelerate key growth initiatives for Illuminate, positioning the company for its next stage of expansion. A significant investment in testing and research infrastructure is expected to enable a threefold increase in R&D capacity, advancing both product development and new customer onboarding. Additionally, Illuminate plans to leverage its expertise to expand its footprint and product offerings into new industry sectors.

Illuminate represents the fourth platform investment from Compass Group’s Fund III, which closed in April 2024 with $408 million in commitments. In addition to Maureen Dwyer, the Compass deal team included Chris Gibson, managing partner, and Danielle Herderhorst, senior associate.

About Compass Group Equity Partners

Compass Group Equity Partners is a St. Louis-based private equity firm with a record of success in partnering with and building lower middle-market companies. Founded in 2014, Compass Group brings a thesis-driven approach and decades of operational, financial and strategic expertise to aid management teams in accelerating growth for long-term value creation. For more information, please visit www.cgep.com.

About The Illuminate Group

The Illuminate Group is a Tampa-based cold chain logistics company specializing in the last-mile, mail-order pharmacies and pharmaceutical manufacturing industries. Founded in 2012, The Illuminate Group delivers specialized expertise to its customers through passive packaging design and engineering, product testing and logistics services. For more information, please visit www.theilluminategroup.com.

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"This collaboration will provide us with the resources and strategic support to expand our reach, enhance our innovative solutions and continue to deliver our hallmark white-glove customer service," said CEO Melissa Germain.