Article preview from Start-Up - July 2008
Following the sale of Boston Scientific's venture portfolio, secondary buyers are positioning themselves as possible purchases of venture capital portfolios.
Article preview from Start-Up - July 2008
Saints or Saviors? Secondary Buyers Offer Exit for BSX, Others
Saints Capital's decision to pay $100 million for 54 companies from Boston Scientific Corp.'s corporate venture profile is an obvious outlier in size, scope, and circumstances. Boston Scientific, still suffering from indigestion after its 2005 acquisition of Guidant Corp., needed to shed its stakes in unwanted properties that didn't fit its core cardiovascular and cardiac rhythm management businesses while also raising some capital to pay down its considerable debt. (See "Boston Scientific Shuffles and Sells in Bid to Right Ship," IN VIVO, December 2007.) But, as venture capital investors struggle to find ways to exit their more mature device companies, Saints' acquisition may be seen as a milestone event for medical device investors looking for alternative exits.
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Companies mentioned in this article:
Asthmatx Inc.
Boston Scientific Corp.
Guidant Corp.
Broncus Technologies Inc.
Elan Corp. PLC
Elan Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Reva Medical Inc.
Tenet Healthcare Corp.
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