Things will be looking different around Kinetic Concepts ($KCI) soon. Apax Partners, KCI's new owner, has named Ronald Matricaria as the chairman of the San Antonio-based company's board of directors. Matricaria will take the reins of the board and will oversee the installation of KCI's new management structure, a process that includes the promotion of Joseph Woody to CEO. In addition, Lisa Colleran, who held positions at Baxter Healthcare, has been appointed president and CEO of LifeCell, a regenerative medicine company KCI bought for $1.7 billion back in 2008. Colleran was tapped as LifeCell's president that same year.
At the same time it announced the management changes, KCI said it will pursue "strategic alternatives" for its therapeutic support systems business. The business focuses on specialized therapeutic support systems, including hospital beds, mattress replacement systems, overlays and patient mobility devices. It has retained Credit Suisse as an adviser for the transaction, but a sale is not a sure thing, according to a statement.
Matricaria is a familiar face in both the medical device and pharmaceutical industries. Until 2002, he served as president, CEO and chairman of St. Jude Medical ($STJ). Before joining St. Jude, he spent nearly a quarter century at Eli Lilly ($LLY), where he served in a number of positions, culminating as president of North American operations and executive VP of the pharmaceutical division.
Woody's résumé is also impressive and includes a stint as global president, vascular therapies for Covidien, where he was responsible for the $2.6 billion acquisition of ev3. He held positions at Smith & Nephew ($SNN), Alliance Imaging, Acuson and GE Medical Systems as well.
It has been a big year of changes for KCI, which Apax bought last year in a deal valued at $6.3 billion, including outstanding debt. The deal valued KCI at $4.98 billion, or $68.50 per share. The company said it won't make disclosures as to what it will do with its TSS business until it deems it appropriate.
- read the KCI release
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