Little Falls, NJ–based Cantel Medical Inc. appears to be doubling down on on its already burgeoning endoscope business with its latest acquisition.
Cantel recently announced that it has entered into a definitive stock purchase agreement to purchase PuriCore International Ltd. (Stafford, Staffs, UK) for the cash price of $26.9 million.
PuriCore International is the endoscopy business unit of PuriCore plc. The company provides automated endoscope reprocessors, endoscope drying and storage cabinets, and chemistry and consumables. With 120 employees, including its sales and service team, and facilities in Stafford and Clevedon, England, PuriCore International brought in $25 million-worth in sales last year.
Cantel's Medivators endoscopy product portfolio includes procedural disposables and endoscope reprocessing systems, and a comprehensive line of endoscope reprocessing products. The two lines are expected to be complementary, according to the company.
With its purchase of PuriCore International, Cantel will significantly expand the reach and scope of its Medivators line in international markets. PuriCore has an established operation in the United Kingdom and will also be a platform for Cantel's future expansion in the UK, as well as more broadly in continental Europe. When the two lines are integrated, the company says that the Medivators/PuriCore line "will be the most comprehensive infection prevention and control portfolio for the GI suite in Europe."
In its most recent quarter, Cantel's Medivators endoscopy segment achieved year-over-year organic growth of 19 percent. Andrew Krakauer, Cantel's president and CEO, said, "This unit achieved record sales for the third consecutive quarter with double-digit growth in all product categories."
Jorgen Hansen, president of the Medivators business unit and COO of Cantel Medical, says: "The PuriCore endoscopy business has a highly accomplished team, a complimentary product portfolio and a well-established customer base in the UK market. This acquisition will bring to the Medivators portfolio a state of the art pass-through AER platform which we believe is critical to our continued success in the UK and Europe."
Krakauer says strong revenue increases have generated improved earnings for Cantel, even as the company increases investments in sales and marketing and new product development.
"Further, we are continuing our aggressive approach in building our international sales, marketing, and operations teams to grow this part of our business in the medium-term," Krakauer says. "Overall, we expect to continue to accelerate these investments over the next several quarters, while remaining committed to an active global acquisition program."
Stephen Levy is a contributor to Qmed and MPMN.
