ICU Medical (NSDQ:ICUI) is in exclusive talks with a Chicago-based private equity shop, GTCR LLC, about a leveraged buyout, unnamed sources told Bloomberg BusinessWeek.
The private equity firm has raised up to $750 million to back the takeover, according to a person "familiar with the matter," the magazine reported.
Shares of ICU Medical shot to an all-time high last May after news surfaced of a possible buyout worth $1 billion.
ICUI shares hit their all-time peak May 8 on the rumors, spiking to $71.29 apiece before subsiding to a $68.83-per-share close, for a 12.7% gain on the day. News of the talks with GTCR pushed the stock to another all-time high of $85 per share last week. Shares were trading at $72.61 each as of about noon today, down 0.8%.
Last month ICU Medical missed expectations for its 2nd-quarter earnings and lowered its outlook for the rest of the year, posting profits of $7.4 million, or 48¢ per share, on sales of $78.7 million for the 3 months ended June 30. That represents sales growth of just 1.8% and a bottom-line slide of 19.5%; analysts on Wall Street were looking for earnings per share of 66¢.
ICU said that, due to "current business trends in certain market segments," it’s lowering its outlook for both sales and earnings for the rest of 2013. The company said it now expects to post EPS of $2.50-$2.60, down from $2.70-$2.85, on sales of $320 million to $325 million, in turn down from $330 million to $337 million.
