Thoratec Corp. (NSDQ:THOR) sold off its International Technidyne Corp. division to private equity firm Warburg Pincus LLC.
The $55 million cash deal is bargain for Warburg as Pleasanton, Calif.-based Thoratec had almost sold ITC to Danaher Corp. (NYSE:DHR) for $100-plus million last summer.
That transaction was scuttled over concerns on ITC‘s regulatory and quality systems and the failure of a key product to win a green light from the Food & Drug Administration. Thoratec said the deal broke down because the parties couldn’t agree on “the status of certain aspects of ITC’s quality system and regulatory filings.” When it announced the ITC/Danaher deal in April, Thoratec said the sale would allow it to focus on its core vascular assist device business.
Immediately following the closure of the Warburg Pincus acquisition, ITC merged with San Diego, Calif.-based Nexus Dx Inc., a clinical diagnostics company focused on point-of-care solutions.
The private equity firm said its expansion strategy is based on addressing three POC market needs: "An expanded menu of tests, ease of product use, and increased connectivity". The ITC merger is Nexus Dx’s third transaction within 15 months, and follows the acquisition of Nanogen’s POC cardiac marker assets in July 2009 and the subsequent merger with HX Diagnostics in September 2009. The combined company will continue to seek attractive acquisition and business development opportunities in the POC market, according to Warburg Pincus — which has been part of numerous lucrative deals in the last year.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.