Abbott and Alere: The Wedding Is Back On!

It seems so long ago. Back in February 2016,  Abbott (NYSE: ABT) and Alere Inc. (NYSE: ALR) announced their $5.8 billion deal. Abbott’s board okay’ed paying $56 per common share of Alere, representing a 51% premium to the company’s close on January 28, 2016. Abbott also assumed $2.6 billion of debt. The combination was expected to create a premier point-of-care testing business and to strengthen Abbott’s diagnostics presence. Alere’s main business is its point-of-care diagnostics and services, which are focused on the areas of infectious disease, cardio-metabolic disease, and toxicology. Point of care testing is a $5.5 billion segment, and one... Read More »

Medical Device Deals Spring Back to Life

The Medical Device sector ended the first quarter of 2017 with 22 announced deals, almost even with Q4:16’s total of 23 deals, and down 29% from the year-ago quarter. But the lull may not last into the second quarter.  As of April 10, 2017, three medical device deals have been announced in Q2:17. On April 4th, Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE: BDX) acquired privately held Caesarea Medical Electronics (CME) for an undisclosed price. CME designs, manufactures and markets a range of infusion and syringe pumps, as well as related accessories and disposable administration sets for both home care and hospital settings. The acquisition expands BD’s infusion portfolio to include... Read More »
Thermo Fisher Invests in Core Informatics

Thermo Fisher Invests in Core Informatics

Even medical device companies now rely on digital health to maintain their competitive edge. On March 6, 2017, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO), maker of analytical instruments, equipment, reagents and consumables, software and services for research, moved into the eHealth space with its purchase of privately held Core Informatics. Financial terms were not disclosed. Thomas Loewald, senior vice president and chief commercial officer, Thermo Fisher Scientific, stated in a press release, “The scientific community is rapidly adopting cloud-based laboratory and scientific data management capabilities. Integrating the leading technologies of Core Informatics is part of our strategy to... Read More »
Health Care Deals Cratered in February 2017

Health Care Deals Cratered in February 2017

After a very strong performance in January 2017 with 160 transactions announced, February’s deal volume collapsed 45%, to just 88 transactions (see chart below). Compared with the same month a year ago, it’s was only down 30%, to 125 deals. Don’t forget, 2016 was a leap year, so an additional six more deals snuck into last year’s results on February 29. What difference that doesn’t make for this year’s results. Yes, it’s all because of the uncertainty around the fate of the Affordable Care Act. Many of the services sectors will be effected by what becomes of Medicaid, whether states will receive block grants, or some other solution. At least two of... Read More »

KRG Capital Splits and Sells Vention Medical

Vention Medical Inc. has undergone some major changes this year, and it’s still the first quarter. Vention, a portfolio company of KRG Capital Partners, designs and manufactures complex medical devices and components used in interventional and minimally invasive surgical products. As of February 20th, its two core business units were sold to separate companies. Vention Medical consisted of the Advanced Technologies (Vention AT) business and a separate Device Manufacturing Services (Vention DMS) business, a contract manufacturing operation. Nordson Corporation (NASDAQ: NDSN) acquired Vention AT for $705 million in an all-cash transaction on February 20, 2017. This... Read More »

Allergan and Hologic Add Aesthetic Devices

Two days in February, two multi-billion-dollar deals in the Medical Device sector. But these aren’t your everyday deals for prosthesis, abdominal stents or novel surgical tools. Both target companies fall into the medical aesthetics category of medical devices, which includes body contouring and other cosmetic procedures that are generally cash-pay businesses. On February 13, 2017, Allergan plc (NYSE: AGN) purchased ZELTIQ® Aesthetics, Inc. for $2.48 billion, or $56.50 per share. ZELTIQ® Aesthetics develops and commercializes products utilizing its controlled-cooling technology platform. Its flagship CoolSculpting system is FDA-cleared to affect appearance through lipolysis or... Read More »