Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) announced today that it agreed to acquire cardiac mapping and ablation technology developer Affera.
Medtronic CEO Geoff Martha described the deal as a nearly $1 billion transaction at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference today, though he added it includes a $250 million contingent consideration. The company expects the transaction to close in the first half of its 2023 fiscal year.
Newton, Massachusetts-based Affera designs and manufactures cardiac mapping and navigation systems, as well as catheter-based cardiac ablation technologies, including a differentiated, focal pulsed-field ablation platform for treating cardiac arrhythmias like AFib.
According to a news release, Medtronic has been a strategic investor through its minority investment portfolio. It currently owns a 3% ownership stake in Affera.
Medtronic said the acquisition expands its cardiac ablation portfolio with the Affera Prism-1 cardiac mapping and navigation platform and the Sphere-9 cardiac ablation catheter, which enable the creation of detailed maps for electrophysiologists (EP) to diagnose arrhythmias and deliver cardiac ablation therapy, respectively.
Affera last month confirmed the start of an FDA inestigational device exemption trial for the use of its system in treating persistent AFib. The company’s product portfolio is currently not approved or available for sale or commercial use.
“The EP ablation market is an exciting and fast-moving segment of cardiology,” Medtronic President of the Cardiac Ablation Solutions business Rebecca Seidel said in the release. “Bringing Affera into our organization, with our established footprint in the cardiac ablation space, will strengthen our ability to provide innovative therapies and enable Medtronic entry into additional EP technology segments, such as mapping and navigation, for the first time.”
Following the close of the acquisition, Medtronic expects it to be less than 1% dilutive to its adjusted EPS in each of the first three years, then neutral-to-accretive thereafter.
“This is an exciting day for patients who suffer from the burden of AF and other arrhythmias,” Affera Founder & CEO Doron Harlev said. “This acquisition directly aligns with our vision of delivering novel solutions to address the rapidly growing demands for cardiac arrhythmia treatment. We are excited to focus on the integration of our technology with Medtronic and are confident that together we can increase patient access to ablation therapies.”
Updated with size of the transaction.
