Merit Stays the Course with Brightwater Acquisition

Merit Medical Systems said it has acquired Brightwater Medical for a $35 million upfront payment and potential earn-out payments of up to $15 million based on receipt of CE mark approval and achievement of future sales targets. Brightwater's primary product is the ConvertX, which is a single device used to replace a series of devices and procedures used to treat severe obstructions of the ureter. The system is designed to be implanted once and converted from a nephroureteral catheter to a nephroureteral stent without requiring sedation or local anesthesia. The device is FDA cleared but does not yet have CE mark approval in Europe. Brightwater was founded by Robert Smouse, a professor of radiology and surgery at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago. Mike Matson, a medtech analyst for Needham & Co. who covers Merit, said the deal is M&A track record of acquiring single-product assets or a small number of products and seamlessly integrating them. He offered Merit's acquisition of Becton Dickinson's biopsy products in late 2017 as an example. He also noted that Merit has an existing interventional radiology business and a significantly larger sales organization than Brightwater. South Jordan, UT-based Merit said it will maintain Brightwater's production capabilities in Temecula, CA while duplicating those capabilities in its catheter facility in Pearland, TX, prior to transferring the ConvertX manufacturing operations to the Texas facility. Merit mana...
Source: MDDI - Category: Medical Devices Authors: Tags: Business Source Type: news