Surmodics (Nasdaq:SRDX) announced that a court denied the U.S. FTC’s request to block the company’s planned merger with GTCR.
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois denied the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and certain state regulators in their effort to issue a preliminary injunction. This injunction would have prevented Surmodics and GTCR from completing their proposed transaction.
GTCR, a private equity firm with healthcare interests, agreed to acquire Surmodics for $627 million in May 2024. With that deal, it would acquire the Eden Prairie, Minnesota–based company’s range of technologies, including drug-coated balloons and thrombectomy systems.
Surmodics’ SurVeil DCB received a long-awaited FDA approval in June 2023. The company also continues to report successful clinical use of its Pounce thrombectomy system. In October 2024, the FDA cleared the Pounce XL thrombectomy system, and Surmodics reported the first uses of the system in February.
However, in March, the FTC launched an attempt to block the deal from going through. It charged that the proposed acquisition would create a combined company controlling more than 50% of the coating market. The FTC noted that GTCR also owns a majority stake in Biocoat, saying that Biocoat is the second-largest provider of outsourced hydrophilic medical device coatings, behind only Surmodics. As a result, the FTC believes the deal is anticompetitive.
Surmodics said at the time that it would “vigorously defend” the deal and remain committed to completing the merger.
Now, the company says the merger remains subject to a temporary restraining order. This mandates that the companies don’t complete the merger before 5 p.m. Central time on Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. Their deal also remains subject to certain closing conditions.
“The District Court’s ruling is a significant step toward being able to complete the merger, which we continue to believe will position the Company to continue to deliver compelling benefits for physicians, patients and customers going forward,” said Gary Maharaj, president and CEO of Surmodics. “I would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to our legal advisors for their hard work in helping Surmodics to defend this proposed transaction in court, and to our employees for their unwavering dedication to maintaining our excellent operating performance.”
