Article preview reprinted Medtech Insight - January 2009
A roundup of recent medtech strategic alliances, mergers & acquisitions and financings.
Deals Update
Article preview reprinted Medtech Insight - January 2009
Mergers & Acquisitions
Abbott Laboratories Inc. & Advanced Medical Optics Inc.
Abbott is buying all the outstanding shares of ophthalmics company Advanced Medical Optics for $22 each (a 205% premium) in a transaction valued at about $2.86bn, which includes $1.5bn in debt. The deal gives Abbott its first exposure to the vision care market, in which the company will be the leading provider of laser vision correction (Lasik) products. Aside from Lasik, AMO also holds top positions in the areas of cataract surgical devices and contact lens care products.
Ablation Frontiers Inc. & Medtronic Inc.
Medtronic has purchased cardiovascular device company Ablation Frontiers for $225mm plus development-based earn-outs. Ablation Frontiers' atrial fibrillation treatment products, which have received CE mark approval in the EU and are under investigational use trials in the US, include three dimensional cardiac mapping and ablation catheters, radiofrequency ablation generators, and guidewires.
Alpine Biomed Corp. & Stellate Systems Inc.
Alpine Biomed (diagnostic devices focusing on GERD and sleep disorders) has acquired privately held Stellate Systems. Stellate is best known for its spike and seizure detection algorithms, which are now considered the industry standard for use in long-term EEG monitoring of epilepsy patients. The company also brings Alpine several products including EEG systems Harmonie and Mesa; the Vita continuous EEG monitoring system for the ICU; sleep diagnostics; and a portfolio of accessories and consumables.
Avacta Group PLC & Curidium Medica PLC
Fellow public UK firms Avacta Group PLC and Curidium Medica PLC have agreed to merge, combing their resources to create a company that's strong in point-of-care diagnostics and pharmacogenomics tools. Avacta will offer 14.5 of its shares (worth about $0.03 apiece, a 16% premium) for each Curidium share, valuing the deal at about $8.8mm based on approximately 18.9mm in outstanding Curidium stock. The newly formed entity, which will be 75% owned by Avacta shareholders, couples Curidium's technical know-how in diagnostics development with Avacta's ability to commercialize products via its CRO business.
Axsun Technologies Inc. & Volcano Corp.
Volcano Corp. (devices for coronary and peripheral artery disease) is paying $21.5mm in cash to acquire private company Axsun Technologies, a developer of MEMS-based lasers and optical equipment used in medical optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging systems. Axsun will become a wholly owned Volcano subsidiary.
Boston Scientific Corp. & Labcoat Ltd.
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Companies mentioned in this article:
University of Michigan
University of Texas
University of Texas Health Science Center
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