AngioDynamics to acquire RITA Medical for $220m
11 December 2006 Queensbury, N.Y. & Fremont, Calif. USA. AngioDynamics,
Inc. (NASDAQ:ANGO) a manufacturer of medical devices for the diagnosis and
treatment of peripheral vascular diseases and other non-coronary diseases
will takeover RITA Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:RITA), a provider of
medical oncology devices, for approximately $220 million. The acquisition is
expected to close by the end of the first calendar quarter of 2007. "This
business combination is about growth, leadership and long-term value
creation. The combination of AngioDynamics and RITA will create a leader in
serving the needs of interventional radiologists, vascular surgeons and
other medical specialties with a compelling product portfolio of exciting
technologies," said Eamonn P. Hobbs, President and Chief Executive Officer
of AngioDynamics. "Interventional oncology is a large and growing area for
our existing customer base, and RITA's leadership position, premium products
and excellent reputation fit our strategy perfectly." "RITA's talented
33-person U.S. sales force targets the same customer base as does
AngioDynamics' 52-person U.S. sales force and the companies have virtually
no product overlap," added Mr. Hobbs. "RITA has a very strong position in
vascular access ports, which are an ideal sales fit with our Morpheus CT
PICC and the vascular access port technology we purchased from Medron last
May. In addition, our recently acquired irreversible electroporation (IRE)
soft tissue ablation technology, which AngioDynamics expects to
commercialize in mid-2008, will be complementary to RITA's diverse offering
of local oncology therapies, which include its market-leading radiofrequency
ablation systems, Habib Sealer resection devices and LC Beads(TM) for tumour
embolization." "Once the merger of our two companies is complete, the
current RITA sales organization will remain intact and will focus on
maximizing the opportunity for RITA's radiofrequency thermal tumour ablation
products and oncological surgical devices. The current AngioDynamics sales
force will take on responsibility for RITA's specialty access catheter
business, which we believe will be a seamless transition. We also look
forward to leveraging RITA's 10-person direct sales force in the U.K.,
Germany and France to sell AngioDynamics' products." Joseph DeVivo,
President and Chief Executive Officer of RITA Medical Systems, said, "The
transaction creates compelling value for the RITA shareholders today and
into the future as RITA shareholders will become significant equity owners
of AngioDynamics and participate in its future success. I believe having
RITA become a part of AngioDynamics is the best way to continue the vision
of creating a successful franchise in medical device oncology." Further
information: www.angiodynamics.com
To top
|
|