Masimo has received a go-ahead from its board of directors to carve out its consumer-focused businesses, slimming itself down to focus on professional patient monitoring devices and telehealth platforms.
The company said it will now “evaluate the proposed structure” for a newly created company that will house its portfolio of home audio brands—including Marantz, Denon, Polk and more, which it acquired through its $1 billion purchase of Sound United in 2022—as well as its high-tech Stork baby monitor system and its line of health-focused smartwatches.
Masimo Chairman and CEO Joe Kiani, however, is expected to play double duty, the company said in its announcement—continuing in those positions for the healthcare business while also serving as chairman of the new spinoff, with the separation coming “as soon as feasible.”
“I truly believe there is tremendous opportunity to increase not just the lifespan but the healthspan of people by taking healthcare into the home,” Kiani said. “We have unique and necessary technologies to make what I’ve been calling 22nd Century healthcare happen in the next few years.”
“I proposed a separation of the consumer business in January and the Board has agreed to move forward,” he added. “This approach is expected to maximize shareholder value as well as give both Masimo healthcare and the new consumer business the best path for success.”
The split is slated to place a number of FDA-cleared medical devices squarely within a consumer-focused tech company built off of Masimo’s long history with sensors and patient data platforms.
Its Stork infant monitor—with its wearable, vital sign-tracking baby boot, digital camera and alerting app—received the agency’s green light last December. The device measures blood oxygen levels, pulse rate and skin temperature and can notify caregivers when the child turns over and begins sleeping facedown.
Last year also saw Masimo claim an FDA nod for its W1 smartwatch, with the agency clearing it for monitoring patients remotely whether they’re in hospitals, long-term care facilities or their homes.
The pulse-ox-equipped watch made its debut in the middle of a so-far-successful patent battle with Apple and its Apple Watch, which saw sensor-laden models fall subject to an import ban earlier this year. Apple began selling pulse-ox-free versions of its wearable in January.