Tuesday, December 5, 2006
Medtronic Sheds Its External Defibrillator Business
Filed under: Business of Medicine
Medtronic has announced the spinning off of its external defibrillator business into a publicly traded company called Physio-Control, Inc. According to Medtronic, Physio-Control is already in many ways an independently functioning entity, with its own manufacturing facilities, headquartered in Redmond, Washington.
From the statement issued by Medtronic:
Physio-Control will be the world's leader in the $1 billion market for external defibrillation products, including automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and manual defibrillators used by hospitals and emergency response personnel. The new company will offer the current portfolio of external defibrillation and emergency response systems, data management solutions and support services, including the popular LIFEPAK® family of external defibrillators. The company will have approximately 1,200 employees and will operate in more than 100 countries around the world. The new company will continue to be headquartered in Redmond, Washington."Medtronic routinely reviews its product and business portfolios and makes adjustments to ensure we meet both our strategic focus and the high expectations we have set for long-term growth," said Art Collins, chairman and CEO of Medtronic. "The creation of this new company will enable Medtronic to more directly focus resources on high-growth therapies aimed at chronic disease management."
"This action also will provide Physio-Control access to a new level of operational, strategic and financial flexibility to invest in and grow its business. We are confident that Physio-Control will be successful as an independent company and that this transition will be seamless to customers and other business partners," said Collins.
The new company will be traded on NYSE.
(1)
