Medtronic to Spin Off Defibrillation Business
Back in 1998 Medtronic acquired portable heart defibrillator manufacturer Physio-Control for $538 million. The company is now announcing it is going to devolve Physio-Control by taking it public under its old name. With about $450 million in sales per year, it has more than a 40 percent share of the market for external defibrillation products such as automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and manual defibrillators. Medtronic has retained Goldman Sachs to advise it on the transaction, which is expected to be completed in the first half of Medtronic’s fiscal year 2008 (i.e. within six to nine months). Brian Webster, 43, has been with Physio-Control for 15 years and has been promoted to run Medtronic Emergency Response Systems last month.
The organization currently has 1,200 employees in 100 countries, says the Seattle Times. According to the Seattle PI, the company was created 51 years ago, went public first in 1971, was acquired by Eli Lilly in 1980, then by Bain Capital in 1994 who took it public again the next year.
December 4, 2006 Related topics: Medical Devices & Products, Mergers & Acquisitions, Cardiology