Accuray Inc.’s (NSDQ:ARAY) nearly $300 million deal to buy TomoTherapy Inc. (NSDQ:TOMO) isn’t closed yet, but the integration of the two companies is already underway.
Accuray CEO Euan Thomson wrote in an email to employees that the company isn’t officially beginning the process until the deal closes, but the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based CyberKnife radiosurgery device maker is already taking steps to ensure a smooth transition.
“As you know, we held All Hands meetings at Accuray early in the week, and I am currently traveling to each regional headquarters to meet with as many of you as possible,”Thomson wrote.. “I am really pleased by your positive reaction to the news. I have heard that reception of the news at TomoTherapy has been generally positive as well. People in both companies share a passion for patient care and a pride in the breakthrough technologies that we have developed.”
The company plans to hire an integration consulting firm to “provide the specialized expertise needed to ensure we develop a comprehensive integration plan,” he added.
Accuray will also form a joint integration team to plan the merging of the two companies and then begin the process once the plan is in place.
Thomson gave no indication of the timeline for the transition, or how many employees might be laid off if redundancies are found. The two firms have set up a special website for the transition at www.AccurayTomoTherapy.com.
Accuray announced that it had signed an agreement to buy TomoTherapy for $4.80 per share in cash and stock March 7. The purchase price was a nearly 31 percent premium over TOMO’s $3.67 closing price Friday, March 4.
The companies believe their technologies complement with overlapping patient populations.
TomoTherapy’s "ring gantry-based" cancer treatment platform is designed to reduce radiation exposure to surrounding tissue surrounding cancerous cells. The system uses CT imaging to guide conformal radiation therapy treatments.
"This transformational transaction significantly increases our global market presence, creates financial benefits from operating efficiencies and overhead reductions, and creates exciting new revenue opportunities for us. The combined company will also have greater scale to invest in the R&D that will keep it on the leading edge of innovation, offering new hope for cancer patients worldwide," Thomson said at the time.
