Stryker Corp. (NYSE:SYK) is getting into the medical device reprocessing and remanufacturing business with a bang, closing its $525 million cash on Ascent Healthcare Solutions.

Kalamazoo, Mich.-based Stryker said it plans to add Ascent and its roster of 1,800 hospital and group purchasing organization customers to its MedSurg segment, where it will operate under its own banner.

Ascent, formed in 2005 when Vanguard Medical Concepts and Alliance Medical Corp. merged, posted sales of more than $100 million last year and employs about 900 workers, according to a press release. It’s based in Lakeland, Fla., and Phoenix, Ariz., the home bases of Vanguard and Alliance, respectively. The company refurbishes cardiovascular, orthopedic, gastroenterology and general surgery devices.

The deal may not be the type of blockbuster CEO Steve MacMillan had in mind when he said the company wasn’t likely make any headlines with giant acquisitions, but a half-billion-dollar cash deal isn’t exactly small beer. And Stryker’s been on a miniature buying spree in November. It spent $103 million on a pair of acquisitions late last year, buying Alameda, Calif.-based custom knee replacement software provider OtisMed Corp. and the worldwide rights to market and sell Synergetics USA Inc.’s Sonopet ultrasonic aspirator.

Stryker posted third-quarter sales of $1.7 billion, flat compared with the same period last year, and net earnings of $277 million, a 3 percent gain on Q3 2008.