The deal caps an eventful year for Vascular Solutions and its CEO, Howard Root.

Maureen Kingsley

Teleflex Inc., a medical device company that provides technology for cardiovascular, surgical, urological, anesthesia, respiratory, and emergency-medicine procedures, has announced its pending acquisition of cardiovascular-device specialist (and frequent 2016 newsmaker) Vascular Solutions for an impressive $1 billion.

Per the agreement, Teleflex will acquire all issued and outstanding shares of Vascular Solutions' common stock for $56.00 per share, in cash. The boards of directors of both companies have unanimously approved the transaction; it is subject to the approval of Vascular Solutions' shareholders and is expected to close in the first half of 2017.

Benson Smith, Chairman and CEO of Wayne, PA-based Teleflex, said in a press announcement that he feels "extremely excited" about the deal with Minneapolis-based Vascular Solutions and how it will advance his company's cardiovascular-device portfolio. "Vascular Solutions is a truly unique company with differentiated technologies serving the coronary and peripheral vascular markets. They have a demonstrated long-standing track record of delivering double-digit annual revenue growth, stemming from organically developed, patented products that address unmet clinical needs in high-value procedure categories," Smith said. He added that in addition to the "compelling growth opportunities" Vascular Solutions will immediately afford Teleflex, the soon-to-be-acquired company's "robust R&D pipeline and international distribution network" will strategically benefit Teleflex over time.  

Nineteen-year-old Vascular Solutions sells more than 90 different proprietary products and services to interventional cardiologists, interventional radiologists, electrophysiologists, and vein specialists; Teleflex says the combined companies will offer more than 150 cardiac, vascular, and interventional products globally.

Howard Root, Vascular Solutions' outspoken and headline-making CEO who was recently exonerated in federal court on all charges in criminal prosecution concerning alleged off-label promotion of one of the company's products, offered the following remarks regarding this latest development for his company and his role in it: "As our Board discussed the future of Vascular Solutions, we determined that now is the time for the right partner to take over our successful and growing business. Following the jury verdict in February vindicating Vascular Solutions and me, I took some time to consider what I want to do next and what risks I want to continue to assume. At the end of that process, I concluded that, while I still love Vascular Solutions 20 years after I started the company, I am not willing to assume much longer the personal risk associated with being the CEO of a public medical device company.

"Given the resulting uncertainty in the future leadership of our company, the Board believed it was in the best interests of our shareholders to evaluate alternatives to Vascular Solutions' continuing as a stand-alone public company. As the Board completed its thorough evaluation process, we unanimously became convinced that the proposed acquisition by Teleflex is in the best interests of our shareholders, and that Teleflex is the right partner for our employees and our customers to continue to grow our business, both clinically and professionally, for many years to come."

Root's company also issued two Class-I recalls this year, for dual-access catheters and hemostasis valves, respectively. Last month it received FDA clearance to market its Fluent inflation device for use during cardiovascular procedures to create, maintain, and monitor pressure in balloon catheters, and a few days later it announced in a report of third-quarter earnings that worldwide revenue had increased 13% from the third quarter of 2015 to $41.8 million, "near the top of the company's revenue guidance of $41.0 million to $42.0 million."

Maureen Kingsley is a contributor to Qmed. 

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[image courtesy of CHANPIPAT/FREEDIGITALPHOTOS.NET]