Medical Device Maker Scooped Up for $1.7 Billion

Greatbatch, Inc. (NYSE: GB) is touting its “transformative deal” to acquire privately held Lake Region Medical for $1.73 billion. Transformative in that the combined company will be one of the world’s largest medical device manufacturers, serving the cardiac, neuromodulation, vascular, orthopedics and advanced surgical markets and posting revenue of approximately $1.5 billion. The transaction is expected to be double-digit accretive to cash EPS in 2016, the first full fiscal year post-closing, and meaningfully more accretive thereafter. It expects to achieve net annual synergies at the operating profit level of $25 million in 2016, which is expected to increase to at least $60 million in... Read More »

Deal Volume Rose in July

July’s combined transaction total hit 127 deals, up 2% compared with the bang-up month of July 2014, which had 124 transactions. The Services sector had a strong performance, accounting for 60% of deal volume. Long-Term Care made up 27% of the volume overall with 34 announced transactions. That equalled the record set last July for the sector, and will probably break it as more deals come to light. The Managed Care sector posted some extra activity, although seven deals versus two deals the month prior and a year ago isn’t moving  the needle very high. July 2015 DealsShare of Total Services Behavioral Health Care32% Home Health & Hospice23% Hospitals76% Labs, MRI & Dialysis43%... Read More »

Eye Diseases Spur More M&A in July

At least three of the deals announced so far in July have targeted companies or compounds that treat eye diseases. The first was Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) and its $124 million deal with Applied Genetic Technologies (NASDAQ: AGTC) for the worldwide commercialization rights to one clinical-stage and one pre-clinical therapeutic program. Last week, Allergan Inc. (NYSE: AGN) paid $125 million for Oculeve, Inc., a medical device company focused on new technologies for dry eye disease. Then, rival Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (NYSE: VRX) paid an undisclosed amount for the global rights to EyeGate Pharmaceuticals’ (OTCQB: EYEG) EyeGate II Delivery System and EGP-437 combination product... Read More »

Madison Dearborn Buys into Rehab Products

Chicago-based private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners plunked down $715 million for Patterson Medical, a division of Patterson Companies (NASDAQ: PDCO). The parent company wants to focus on its dental and animal health businesses, and was looking for a buyer. Patterson Medical provides rehabilitation, assistive and splinting products around the world, which is clearly not great fit. Price-to-EBITDA was a mere 1.06x. Read More »

Zimmer-Biomet Merger Spurs More Deals

After more than a year of regulatory reviews in the United States and Europe, Warsaw, Indiana-based Zimmer Holdings (NYSE: ZMH) and its cross-town rival Biomet, Inc., finally tied the knot on June 24, 2015. In April 2014, when the deal was first announced, the price was put at $13.35 billion. At closing, management stated that the value of the deal was approximately $14 billion. The combined company will be known as Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc., and will trade on the NYSE and SIX under the ticker symbol ZBH. The acquisition was conditioned upon the sale of some Zimmer and Biomet assets, and hot on the heels of the closing, Smith & Nephew (NYSE: SNN) acquired Zimmer’s Unicompartmental... Read More »

Independent Welch Allyn Sells for $2.05 Billion

Welch Allyn, Inc. was a quiet, family-run global medical device company, based in the Finger Lakes region of New York State. We knew the peace couldn’t last. Sure enough, last week Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: HRC) agreed to pay $2.05 billion for the Skaneateles Falls-based company that makes those physical examination instruments and accessories you so look forward to seeing whenever you visit your doctor. It also makes EMR-connected vital signs and cardiac monitoring devices, with the aid of 2,600 people in 26 countries. Hill-Rom Holdings operates as a medical technology company, and its financial advisors at Goldman, Sachs & Co. expect this transaction to generate $2.6 billion in... Read More »