Angiotech Plans to Sell Interventional Products Business for $326.5 Million

Angiotech Pharmaceuticals Inc. is on the verge of completing a major deal for a division of its medical device products. The medical technology company announced Monday that it will sell certain subsidiaries, namely its Interventional Products business, to medical product manufacturer Argon Medical Devices Inc. for $362.5 million in cash. The deal is expected to close before the end of April.

Angiotech shareholders must still approve the deal for it to be finalized. Seventy percent of the company’s outstanding shares have signed voting agreements in favor of the proposed transaction.

Key product lines included in Angiotech’s Interventional Products business include the full-core biopsy device BioPince, disposable biopsy instruments Tru-Core and SuperCore, the bone marrow biopsy device T-Lok as well as the SKATER Drainage System. The subsidiary recorded $101.6 million in revenue over the past 12 months.

Thomas Bailey, the president and CEO of Angiotech, said the transaction will help the company pay off its remaining debt obligations and provide excess cash to invest in its remaining businesses.

Moving forward, the company wants to focus its efforts on its Royalty business and Surgical Products business, which includes products such as the tissue-closure device Quill, the Sharpoint suture device and ophthalmic products.

Angiotech will retain manufacturing and commercialization rights to its lung biopsy plug system, BioSentry (Bio-Seal), as part of the transaction in order to continue exploring commercial and development opportunities for the recently FDA-approved product.

Although headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Angiotech has a subsidiary Medical Device Technologies Inc. facility located in Gainesville. The facility serves as a wholesale distributor for devices and trays containing prescription drugs.

Argon Medical Devices is a portfolio company of RoundTable Healthcare Partners, a private equity firm based in Lake Forest, Ill. RoundTable currently manages five investment funds for a total of $1.9 billion in capital, according to the firm’s website.

To learn more about the two companies, visit angiotech.com and argonmedical.com.