Alere (Waltham, Massachusetts), a global leader in enabling individuals to take charge of their health at home through the merger of rapid diagnostics and health management, reported that it has acquired Arriva Medical (Coral Springs, Florida), a provider of diabetes testing supplies to individuals in their homes. To acquire Arriva, Alere paid about $65 million cash, subject to working capital and other closing adjustments, plus 806,452 restricted shares of Alere common stock. Alere s products and services, as well as its new product development efforts, focus on infectious disease, cardiology, oncology, toxicology and women s health.

Baxter International (Deerfield, Illinois) and Synovis Life Technologies (St. Paul, Minnesota) reported a definitive agreement for Baxter to acquire Synovis, a provider of biological and mechanical products for soft tissue repair used in a variety of surgical procedures. The acquisition complements and will expand the portfolio of Baxter s regenerative medicine and biosurgery franchise, which includes a number of devices and biological products for hemostasis, tissue sealing and adherence. The Synovis board has unanimously approved the transaction and is recommending that its shareholders approve the agreement at an offer price of $28 per share, which equates to $325 million of equity value or approximately $260 million after adjusting for the net cash.

Covidien (Mansfield, Massachusetts) reported an agreement to acquire Barrx Medical (Sunnyvale, California) for $325 million. Barrx Medical is a firm that specializes in the treatment of Barrett s esophagus syndrome using bipolar radio frequency (RF) ablation devices. The deal is structured so future earnout payments are possible based on the achievement of specific milestones. The transaction, subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of certain regulatory approvals, is expected to be completed by Jan. 31, 2012. Barrx currently has 133 employees and post acquisition the company would be a division of the Surgical Solutions group in Covidien, according to Barrett Covidien also reported that it plans to spin off its pharmaceuticals business into a standalone public company. If a spin-off is executed, the resulting Covidien medical products business would have annual sales of about $9.6 billion (based on 2011 reported sales), about evenly split between the U.S. and non-U.S. markets. The Medical Devices business segment would represent about 80% of the company s sales, with Medical Supplies comprising the remainder. The company would hold the number one or number two market positions in categories representing about 90% of its sales. Covidien s pharmaceuticals business generates about $2 billion in annual sales, with about two-thirds derived from the U.S. market.

Electrochem Solutions, a subsidiary of Greatbatch (Clarence, New York) reported a definitive agreement to acquire Micro Power Electronics (Beaverton, Oregon) for net cash consideration of about $60 million and the assumption of debt and certain transaction-related payments and expenses. Greatbatch intends to finance this acquisition, which is expected to close by the end of the year, with cash on hand and availability under its existing revolving credit facility. Micro Power is a supplier of custom battery solutions, serving the portable medical market as well as military and handheld automatic identification and data collection markets.

Fujifilm Holdings (Tokyo) reported that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire SonoSite (Bothell, Washington), a developer of bedside and point-of-care ultrasound technology for about $995 million. The transaction was unanimously approved by the boards of both companies. Fujifilm, through a U.S. subsidiary, will make an all-cash tender offer to purchase all outstanding shares of SonoSite common stock for $54 per share in cash. Completion of the deal is expected in 2Q12.

Hill-Rom Holdings (Batesville, Indiana) said that it has signed a definitive agreement to purchase the Volker Group (Berlin) for about $85 million in cash. Volker is a manufacturer of long-term care and acute care bed frames, surfaces and furniture in Europe and around the world. Volker is a private company that claimed annual revenues of about $100 million in 2010. The transaction is expected to close in 1Q12.

Steris (Mentor, Ohio) and Toshiba America Medical Systems (Tustin, California) have formed an alliance to offer advanced vascular, cardiovascular, pediatric and neurosurgical hybrid surgical suites to healthcare systems seeking the latest patient-focused interventions. Toshiba will provide tableside digital information and imaging technologies, and Steris will deliver custom-designed high-definition integrated surgical suites featuring LED surgical lighting and visualization systems, and Harmony iQ advanced integration and OR equipment management solutions. The resulting Steris/Toshiba hybrid suites will enable surgical and diagnostic teams to carry out a vast range of image-guided cardiovascular, vascular, and neurosurgical interventional procedures as well as open surgeries.

Symmetry Medical (Warsaw, Indiana), a developer of device solutions, including surgical instruments, orthopedic implants, and sterilization cases and trays, said that it has entered into a definitive asset purchase agreement to acquire the surgical instruments business of Codman & Shurtleff (Raynham, Massachusetts), a Johnson & Johnson (New Brunswick, New Jersey) company for $165 million. Codman s line of surgical instruments will be combined with Symmetry s current hospital direct business, Specialty Surgical Instrumentation, creating a new business segment with more than $100 million in combined annual sales.