(By Balaseshan) Merit Medical Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: MMSI) said it purchased substantially all of the assets of Illinois-based peritoneal dialysis catheters manufacturer Medigroup Inc.
Medigroup is profitable with 75 percent gross margins, and the South Jordan, Utah-based Merit Medical expects the transaction will be immediately accretive for the company.
Medigroup's current annual sales are about $2 million, mostly in the United States, and Merit Medical intends to offer the product line immediately on a worldwide basis.
The company said that while growing in the United States, peritoneal dialysis is the procedure of choice over chronic catheters in many international markets.
"Medigroup offers a broad product line of catheters and implantation devices, and we believe this opportunity will enhance our overall dialysis business," said Fred Lampropoulos, chairman and chief executive officer of Merit Medical.
Merit Medical designs, develops, manufactures and markets medical devices used in interventional and diagnostic procedures. The company operates in the cardiology, radiology, pulmonology, thoracic surgery, nephrology, vascular surgery and gastroenterology markets.
Merit employs about 2,600 people worldwide with facilities in Salt Lake City and South Jordan, Utah; Angleton, Texas; Richmond, Virginia; Maastricht and Venlo, The Netherlands; Paris, France; Galway, Ireland; Beijing, China; Copenhagen, Denmark; and Rockland, Massachusetts.
MMSI is trading up 1.08 percent at $14.04 on Thursday. The stock has been trading between $11.51 and $15.37 for the past 52 weeks.