Siemens, Medtronic close acquisitions:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The first week of November saw the conclusion of two significant acquisitions by medtech powerhouses Siemens Medical Solutions and Medtronic. Siemens closed its $7bn acquisition of US lab diagnostics company Dade Behring on Tuesday. The addition of Dade's clinical lab portfolio, which netted sales of $1.7bn in 2006, gives Siemens a major leg up the IVD ladder, making it the industry's largest player (excluding diabetes testing products). Medtronic completed its $4.2bn purchase of Kyphon, the balloon kyphoplasty and spinal products specialist, on Friday (November 2). The acquisition is expected to bulk up Medtronic's existing spinal business so that it can compete better in one of the fastest-growing segments in the orthopaedics industry. Both Siemens and Medtronic had entered into their respective agreements in July.