Nikon Refocuses on Medical Devices

Nikon Corporation (T: 7731) is following its consumer electronics brethren, Canon, Inc. (NYSE: CAJ), FujiFilm (T: 4901), Olympus Corp. (T:7733), Pentax Corp. and Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG), into the health care industry. Last week it announced the acquisition of Optos. The $400 million price buys a Scottish medical device company that specializes in designing retinal-imaging machines used to test eyes and detect high blood press, and certain types of cancers.     Read More »

Cross-Border Merger in Medical Devices

With only four deals announced in January, it seemed as if M&A in the medical devices sector was drying up. Not quite, as 11 announcements surfaced in February. The largest came last week, as Sorin SpA (MIL: SRN) agreed to merge with Houston-based Cyberonics Inc. (NASDAQ: CYBX). The all-stock transaction produces a combined equity value of approximately $2.7 billion. If all goes according to plan, Cyberonics shareholders will own 54% of the new company upon closing, which translates to a purchase price of about $1.24 billion. The new company, still to be named, combines two global leaders in cardiac surgery and neuromodulation, and will be a major player in cardiac rhythm management,... Read More »