Guess Which Minnesota Company Is Selling Its Medical Business

Patterson Cos. executives plan to focus on the company's core dental and animal health businesses.

Chris Newmarker

Patterson Cos. (Mendota Heights, MN) said Wednesday that it will sell its medical business for $750 million to Chicago-based private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners.

The deal is expected to close within months, pending regulatory requirements and other customary closing conditions.

"Patterson's strategy for growth is to focus our resources and investments on building our dental and animal health businesses. We believe that the medical business will thrive under the new ownership that is dedicated to driving growth in the rehabilitation market," Scott P. Anderson, chairman and CEO of Patterson Cos., said in a news release.

Patterson's medical business is a major distributor of rehabilitation supplies, equipment, and assisted living products. For the fiscal year ended April 2014, it brought in $479 million in sales, or about 12% of the company's revenue.

Patterson Medical's present management team, led by its president Mike Orscheln, will work closely with MDP going forward as they seek to grow the business under a new independent ownership structure.

Patterson Cos. meanwhile plans to use the $715 million to help pay down debt related to its recent acquisition of Animal Health International Inc.

Chris Newmarker is senior editor of Qmed and MPMN. Follow him on Twitter at @newmarker.

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