Abbott To Acquire IDEV Tech., OptiMedica Corp. - Update

(RTTNews) - Abbott Laboratories (ABT) Monday agreed to acquire IDEV Technologies, a privately held medical devices maker, for $310 million net of cash and debt, which is expected to expand its peripheral technology portfolio.

Abbott also agreed to acquire another private firm, OptiMedica Corp. that makes ophthalmic devices, for $250 million, net of cash, plus milestone-payments of up to $150 million. The deal will help Abbott tap the fast developing laser cataract surgery market.

Both the deal are to close by the year end and will not impact Abbott's ongoing fiscal year 2013 earnings-per-share forecast.

The purchase of IDEV will expand Abbott's existing peripheral technology portfolio of guidewires, balloon dilatation catheters and stents, said Chuck Foltz, senior vice president, vascular, Abbott.

Webster, Texas-based IDEV focuses on developing next-generation medical devices for use by interventional radiologists. Its products include SUPERA Veritas, a self-expanding nitinol stent system with CE Mark in Europe for treating blockages in blood vessels due to peripheral artery disease.

In the U.S., SUPERA Veritas is cleared only for the treatment of biliary strictures (narrowing of a bile duct) related to cancer. It is currently being reviewed under a Premarket Approval Application by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treatment of the superficial femoral artery.

The OptiMedica deal will help Abbott expand its vision care business into the femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery market.

Abbott shares are trading at $35.28, down 0.12%, on a volume of 1.9 million shares on the NYSE.