Acquisitions & Agreements

• 3M (St. Paul, Minnesota) said that it has completed its acquisition of Arizant (Eden Prairie, Minnesota) a manufacturer of patient warming solutions designed to prevent hypothermia in surgical settings for $810 million. The company first reported the deal in September.Patient warming is a highly strategic adjacency for 3M and integral to infection prevention. Arizant expands 3M's infection prevention offerings and will help to drive growth internationally.

• Arrowhead Research (Pasadena, California) said its portfolio company, Nanotope (Skokie, Illinois), has entered into an agreement with Smith & Nephew (S&N; London) to develop a cartilage regeneration product for human healthcare markets using a subset of its proprietary regenerative medicine technology. Nanotope and S&N will work together to optimize a cartilage regeneration product based on Nanotope's platform. S&N will conduct and assume costs associated with preclinical tests required to support clinical trials, purchase preclinical material from Nanotope, and assume all clinical trial costs. Nanotope will potentially receive up to $26.55 million in milestone payments plus sales royalties if all milestones are met.

• Bruker (Billerica, Massachusetts) reported the closing of its acquisition of the Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and the Optical Industrial Metrology (OIM) instruments businesses from Veeco Instruments (Plainview, New York)for $229.4 million in cash. Bruker said that it would acquire the business back in August. The acquired AFM and OIM businesses are highly complementary to Bruker's existing systems and solutions, and the combined product portfolio transforms Bruker into a global leader in materials research and nanotechnology analysis instrumentation, the company said.

• MultiCell Technologies (Woonsocket, Rhode Island) and its subsidiary, Xenogenics (San Diego), reported the acquisition of the Ideal BioStent assets by Xenogenics from investment funds managed by Western Technology Investment and Silicon Valley Bank. Xenogenics also entered into an exclusive license with Rutgers University (Newark, New Jersey) for rights to certain intellectual property related to the Ideal BioStent.The Ideal BioStent contains a dual-drug polymer, incorporating salicylate, the active component in aspirin, directly into the polymer chain. As the polymer degrades, salicylate is released directly into the vessel wall to provide anti-inflammatory therapy aimed at reducing stenosis and the promotion of blood vessel healing.

• Natus Medical (San Carlos, California) reported that it has acquired Medix (Argentina), a developer of devices for newborn care in Latin America. Natus acquired all outstanding shares of Medix capital stock for $14 million in cash, exclusive of direct costs of the acquisition, with the potential for additional purchase consideration if certain revenue targets are met in 2011 and 2012. Natus funded the acquisition through available cash.

• Qiagen (Germantown, Maryland) and Abbott Molecular (Des Plaines, Illinois) have entered into an agreement that significantly strengthens both companies' testing menus for automated in vitro diagnostic applications in the U.S. and Canada. Financial terms were not disclosed. Qiagen will receive kits for a PCR-based molecular assay for HIV-1 viral load testing in the U.S. and Canada which will be commercialized under Qiagen's brand. Qiagen and Abbott believe that these agreements significantly strengthen the value of their respective automation platforms and will reinforce their leadership in infectious disease testing.

• St. Jude Medical (St. Paul, Minnesota) said it plans to acquire AGA Medical (Plymouth, Minnesota) in a cash and stock deal worth roughly $1.3 billion, including the assumption of about $225 million in outstanding debt. The transaction is expected to be conducted as an exchange offer followed by a merger and to close by the end of the year. St. Jude will acquire all of the outstanding shares of AGA for $20.80 a share. AGA Medical reported sales of nearly $199 million in 2009. The company makes a comprehensive line of devices used to treat structural heart defects and vascular abnormalities through minimally invasive transcatheter treatments. AGA shareholders will receive $20.80 for each share of AGA stock they own in the form of cash and/or St. Jude common stock. The split between cash and stock consideration will be 50% of each. Holders of AGA stock tendered in the exchange offer may elect to receive cash or shares of St. Jude common stock, subject to proration and adjustment pursuant to the definitive agreement. St. Jude noted that the acquisition represents a significant addition to its cardiovascular and atrial fibrillation growth programs, adding to the company's portfolio a leading position in four new markets – the market for left atrial appendage (LAA) closure, the market for patent foramen ovale (PFO) closure in cryptogenic stroke patients, the market to modify abnormal peripheral vessels with vascular plugs and the market to repair structural heart defects.

• Solta Medical (Hayward, California) said it has acquired CLRS Technology (Costa Mesa, California), a provider of personal care solutions. CLRS Technology's premier device, Claro is the only FDA cleared over-the-counter IPL device that uses a combination of both heat and light to clear skin quickly and naturally, according to the company. Solta acquired CLRS for the payment of about $1.1 million of debt at the closing and potential future payments based on CLRS revenue and operating income through the end of 2011.