Boston Scientific Set to Acquire 5th Company This Year

Well, it seems as if Boston Scientific is at “it” again. “It” - meaning the Marlborough, MA-based company is in the middle of replicating its 2018 buying spree.

The company said it signed an agreement to acquire Baylis Medical for an upfront payment of $1.75 billion. Boston Scientific said the deal should close in 1Q22.

The feeling is Austin, TX-based Baylis would have the potential to boost Boston Scientific’s electrophysiology and structural heart product portfolios.

Baylis has developed the NRG and VersaCross Transseptal Platforms as well as a family of guidewires, sheaths and dilators used to support left heart access. Rather than relying solely on mechanical force, the Baylis Medical Company platforms facilitate predictable and safe transseptal access by using RF energy – a method shown to increase efficiency and improve the safety and efficacy of transseptal puncture during left heart procedures.

The new VersaCross platform further streamlines transseptal crossing procedures and therapy delivery by offering the same benefits while eliminating potential wire and sheath exchanges, which may help mitigate risks during procedures.

"The talented and innovative Baylis Medical Company team, combined with these transseptal platforms, will enhance our efforts to improve procedural efficiencies with physician tools designed to make left atrial access safer and more predictable, with a focus on patient outcomes," said Mike Mahoney, chairman and CEO, Boston Scientific. "A leader in many of the fastest growing markets in our industry, we believe that Baylis Medical Company will add meaningful revenue, operating income, and new research and development capabilities across multiple Boston Scientific businesses, while complementing existing offerings within our electrophysiology and structural heart portfolios."

Baylis Medical brings the tally of Boston Sci’s deal-making up to 5 and is the 3rd billion dollar deal this year.

The firm kicked off M&A activity in January when it said it was in the process of acquiring Preventice Solutions, a mobile cardiac health solutions and services specialists for an upfront payment of $925 million with the potential for $300 million in milestones.

Boston Scientific went on to make announcements it would acquire Farapulse for $295 million; Lumenis for $1.07 billion; and Devoro Medical for $269 million.

The number of acquisitions should not come as a shock. In a past earnings call Mahoney noted Boston Scientific had $2.7 billion cash on hand and the company’s “top priority for capital deployment remains tuck-in M&A…, according to a Seeking Alpha transcript.

The strategy echoes Boston Scientific’s 2018 push to expand its offerings via acquisition. Mahoney made similar comments about Boston Scientific’s appetite for M&A in 2018, too.

“We do have a pretty active M&A appetite,” Mahoney said, according to a 2018 transcript from Seeking Alpha. “So, I think you'll see us be active with tuck-in acquisitions to strengthen our category leadership strategy.”

The company’s largest deal was for BTG, which it acquired for $4 billion.

Boston Scientific’s strenuous march for M&A caused MD+DI to award Boston Scientific Editor’s Choice for 2018 Company of the Year.