NuVasive Inc. (NSDQ:NUVA) said today it will acquire its Brazilian distributor Mega Surgical, hoping to close the transaction during the 1st quarter of this year.
Mega Surgical, located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was founded in 1996 as an implantable medical device distribution company, and began partnering with NuVasive in 2008. Currently, Mega Surgical is the exclusive distributor of NuVasive products in Brazil.
“We are pleased to announce the acquisition of our international distributor, Mega Surgical, in Brazil, which will offer NuVasive direct engagement in an important international market with untapped potential. This acquisition will provide us with new growth opportunities in this key Latin American market, along with direct access to a large, growing market for accelerated share-taking in new segments, including a new opportunity to compete in Brazil’s large public healthcare market. Additionally, it will allow for direct contact with surgeons and key opinion leaders throughout the country where direct relationships are a preferred method of doing business. Together, we’ll be an even stronger company with an established presence in Brazil and resources to drive growth,” NuVasive international exec veep Jason Hannon said in prepared remarks.
NuVasive did not release financial or any other details of the transaction.
“Our acquisition of Mega Surgical in Brazil represents another step forward in expanding our direct global presence, while gaining better visibility and reducing the volatility that this important international market has had to our past financial results. As we continue our focus on driving international growth and scale, we are off to a strong start for the year in many key markets around the globe. We are gaining momentum from the plans we initiated in the second half of 2015 to refocus market penetration efforts around our competitive and highly differentiated XLIF™ and iGA™ technology platforms. Despite tougher comparisons expected in the first quarter 2016, we have a high degree of confidence in the underlying strength and expected performance of our international business for the full year 2016,” NuVasive CEO Gregory Lucier said in a prepared statement.
In February, Nuvasive reported 4th-quarter and full-year results that topped expectations on Wall Street, posting a Q4 profit increase of nearly 54% and swinging to black ink for 2015.
San Diego-based NuVasive put up profits of $11.5 million, or 22¢ per share, on sales of $215.3 million for the 3 months ended Dec. 31, 2015, representing a bottom-line gain of 53.9% on sales growth of 5.4% compared with Q4 2014. Adjusted to exclude 1-time items, earnings per share were 35¢, 4¢ ahead of The Street.
Full-year profits were $66.3 million, or $1.26 per share, on sales of $811.1 million, compared with losses of -$16.7 million, or -36¢ per share, on sales growth of 6.4% compared with 2014. Adjusted EPS for 2015 were $1.26, a full nickel ahead of analysts’ consensus expectations.
