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| Nipro Diagnostics CEO Scott Verner |
Diabetes testing company Nipro Diagnostics is selling out to China's Sinocare for $273 million, cashing in on a rapidly growing Chinese diagnostics market while charting plans for international expansion.
Both sides are staying quiet on financial details, but Nipro will hand certain diabetes monitoring products to Sinocare as part of the deal. Nipro also boasts manufacturing facilities in Florida, New Hampshire and Taiwan, giving the companies a broad footprint as they team up to create new devices and diabetes testing technologies.
"This transaction combines one of the fastest growing blood glucose monitoring companies in the United States with the fastest growing blood glucose monitoring company in China," Nipro Diagnostics CEO Scott Verner said in a statement. "We have a shared vision and a singular focus to provide innovative and affordable solutions so patients can live healthier lives. Together, we will offer a strong portfolio of solutions to our global customers."
Part of Nipro's decision to sell stemmed from lagging Medicare reimbursement in the U.S., Verner told the Sun Sentinel. By shifting its focus to China, the Fort Lauderdale, FL-based company can find a bigger market for its FDA-approved glucose monitoring and testing strips and related products, and also harness Sinocare's biosensor technology to create new products. Sinocare already offers low-cost blood glucose monitoring systems in China, the Sun Sentinel points out, a valuable offering as diagnostic companies target rapid, inexpensive tests.
Meanwhile, both Nipro and Sinocare are staying busy on the dealmaking circuit. Last month, Nipro Diagnostics' parent company, Nipro, snatched up imaging startup Infraredx, getting its hands on the startup's coronary imaging system. The product uses spectroscopy and ultrasound techniques to reveal coronary plaque buildups, a predictor of heart attack risk.
Earlier this year, Sinocare made a $1 billion bid for Bayer's diabetes devices in a bid to expand its offerings. But the company ultimately lost out to KKR-backed Panasonic Healthcare, which clinched the deal in June for $1.15 billion.
- read Nipro's statement
- here's the Sun Sentinel story