Boston Scientific snatches up gastro-focused Apollo Endosurgery for $615M

Boston Scientific has laid down a deal to acquire the gastrointestinal device company Apollo Endosurgery, with a cash offer totaling about $615 million.

Apollo—which formerly marketed the minimally invasive Lap-Band device for weight loss, before trading it to ReShape Lifesciences in 2018—currently maintains a portfolio of endoscopic suturing systems, as well as the Orbera weight loss balloon implant.

The company’s devices are used during endoluminal procedures to close off defects and help manage complications found within the walls of the gastrointestinal tract, while the Orbera balloon inflates in the stomach and can be placed for up to six months to help take up space and slow down digestion. 

“Endoluminal surgery is an emerging field and a core focus for our endoscopy business,” Boston Scientific’s endoscopy president, Mike Jones, said in a release. “This acquisition also enables us to enter a new adjacency—the endobariatric market—and deliver strong, continued growth across our business.”

In its most recent earnings report (PDF), the Austin, Texas-based Apollo projected total net revenues of about $75 million for the 2022 fiscal year. Its third quarter brought in $20.2 million, a 24% increase over the same period in 2021; the company collected a total of $55.5 million for the first nine months of this year.

This past July, Apollo received de novo clearances from the FDA for its Apollo ESG, Apollo ESG Sx, Apollo REVISE and Apollo REVISE Sx systems, with green lights for bariatric revision procedures and endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty, where interior sutures are used to reduce the volume of the stomach in people with obesity.

Boston Scientific said it plans to close the deal in the first half of 2023, with Apollo becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary. With a cash price of $10 per share, the offer represents a 67% premium over Apollo’s closing stock price the day before the acquisition was announced.