
Covidien (NYSE:COV) confirmed that it’s agreed to acquire medical device maker superDimension, saying it will pay about $300 million plus possible earnouts in a deal expected to close during the 2nd quarter.
The Mansfield, Mass.-based medical products giant said it plans to integrate superDimension, which makes the i-Logic pulmonology device, into its medical device segment’s endomechanical portfolio.
The deal for superDimension, first reported last week by Israeli business journal Calcalist, confirmed a week’s worth of rumors on Wall Street about a possible buyout that had Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) and Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) as potential suitors, alongside Covidien.
Founded in Tel Aviv by Pinchas Gilboa, Minneapolis-based superDimension, which posted about $30 million in sales last year, also has offices in Dusseldorf, Germany. The company’s i-Logic electromagnetic navigation bronchoscope is used to diagnose pulmonary diseases like emphysema, cancer and tuberculosis, using a technology based on electromagnetic tracking, image processing and endoscopy. The system won CE Mark approval in the European Union in 2002 and 510(k) clearance from the FDA in 2004.
superDimension has drummed up about $120 million from backers, Calcalist reported, and posted sales of about $30 million last year. The company followed a $25 million funding round in September 2010 with an $11 million round a year later, according to the newspaper. Backers include Pitango, Medica Venture Partners, Orbimed, Pfizer, Axiom fund founder Efi Gildor, Evergreen, Gemini, Oxford Bioscience Partners, Mi3 and Fidelity, according to Calcalist.
"Covidien’s strategy is to invest in clinically and economically relevant products and technologies which can meaningfully improve patient outcomes while reducing the overall cost of care," Bryan Hanson, president of Covidien’s surgical solutions unit, said in prepared remarks. "The acquisition of superDimension will position Covidien to continue its investment in meaningful innovation by delivering more comprehensive solutions in the evaluation and treatment of lung diseases."
"We are very pleased that Covidien has elected to acquire superDimension," added president & CEO Daniel Sullivan, according to a press release. "This partnership will immediately strengthen our worldwide commercial infrastructure, expanding the benefits of the i·Logic system and electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy to a wider patient population."