Nihon Kohden (TYO:6849) is following Asahi Kasei (TYO:3407) into the U.S. market for automated external defibrillators, agreeing to acquire Defibtech for an undisclosed amount.
But unlike Asahi Kasei, the diversified chemical manufacturer that dropped $2.2 billion on Zoll Medical Corp. in April, Nihon Kohden is a pure-play medical device company.
"Defibtech will not only continue expanding its AED product lineup, but also plans to develop and market other resuscitation solutions," CEO Dr. Glenn Laub said in prepared remarks. "Over the past decade, having deployed more than 160,000 AEDs worldwide, we are a steadily growing force in the resuscitation market. We want to continue that growth."
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Defibtech will operate independently as a wholly owned subsidiary of Delaware-based Resuscitation Solution Inc., a U.S. Nihon Kohden subsidiary, added president Gintaras Vaisnys.
In 2010, the FDA warned the AED industry to clean up its act, citing the 28,000 reports of AED failures the federal watchdog agency received between 2005 and 2010. Guilford, Conn.-based Defibtech hasn’t been immune to problems; in 2010 the company recalled 5,418 battery packs for its Lifeline and Revive AEDs, only to pull 65,885 of those devices from shelves the following year.
Asahi Kasei closed its deal for Zoll last spring.
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Analysts’ ups and downs
- Becton Dickinson & Co. (NYSE:BDX): Macquarie reaffirms “neutral” rating, $80 price target; Zacks restates "neutral" rating, $79 price target.
- Derma Sciences (NSDQ:DSCI): Canaccord Genuity maintains "buy" rating, lowers price target from $18 to $16.50.
- HeartWare International (NSDQ:HTWR): UBS maintains “buy” rating, cuts estimates, lowers target price to $100 from $110.
- Hologic (NSDQ:HOLX): Citigroup maintains “buy” rating, lowers price target to $24, cuts estimates; TheStreet Ratings downgrades from "buy" to "hold" rating.
- Intuitive Surgical (NSDQ:ISRG): Mizuho maintains “buy” rating, raises price target to $625 from $565.
- Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ): Jefferies & Co. downgrades from "buy" to "hold" rating, reduces price target from $78 to $75.
- NxStage Medical (NSDQ:NXTM): Jefferies & Co. reiterates "buy" rating, lowers price target from $21 to $16.
- Rockwell Medical (NSDQ:RMTI): Stifel Nicolaus reduces price target from $15 to $13, reiterates "buy" rating.
- St. Jude Medical (NYSE:STJ): Citigroup maintains “sell” rating, lowers price target to $32 from $39.
