A Medical Device Daily

American Medical Systems Holdings (AMS; Minnetonka, Minnesota) reported that it signed a definitive agreement to sell the assets of its aesthetics division acquired via the Laserscope (San Jose, California) acquisition to Iridex (Mountain View, California) for total consideration estimated at up to $37 million. The transaction is anticipated to close no later than Jan. 31.

The transaction calls for $28 million in total consideration to be paid to AMS at closing, with up to an additional $9 million in cash to be paid for any remaining inventory at the end of a six- to nine-month manufacturing transition period.

The net after-tax cash proceeds resulting from this transaction will be used to pay down the company’s long-term debt.

Martin Emerson, president /CEO of AMS, commented, “We are very pleased with the results of our aesthetics division divestiture process which we believe has produced attractive terms in a relatively short timeframe.”

AMS bought Laserscope (San Jose, California) back in July for $715 million (Medical Device Daily, July 21, 2006). Laserscope manufactures minimally invasive medical products, including medical laser systems and related energy delivery devices.

“We believe this acquisition will provide significant growth opportunities for our dermatology business and allow us to become one of the key players in the estimated $750 million global aesthetics laser market, as well as provide a platform for continued growth in ophthalmology,” said Barry Caldwell, president and CEO of Iridex.

Caldwell said he expects the transaction to be accretive to the company’s earnings within the first year excluding one-time expenses related to the transaction.

“In addition, we will acquire a direct sales, clinical and service presence in the international aesthetics markets, which will expand our current international dermatology business beyond its current limited focus. We believe this acquisition will also help expand the support we provide to our present international distribution channels in the ophthalmic segment,” added Caldwell.

Since its founding in 1982, Laserscope’s aesthetics business has sold about 2,100 laser systems in the U.S. and 500 internationally. Combining this with the more than 1,000 Iridex dermatology lasers in the field, Iridex’s installed base will exceed 3,600 laser systems, it said.

Iridex is a worldwide provider of therapeutic-based laser systems, disposable laser probes and delivery devices to treat eye diseases in ophthalmology and skin diseases in dermatology markets.

Micrus Endovascular (San Jose, California) reported that it has acquired certain assets of privately held VasCon (Doral, Florida), a maker of vascular access and delivery devices.

Micrus Design Technology, the subsidiary of Micrus formed to acquire the assets, will develop and manufacture neurovascular catheter products for Micrus, including Micrus’ steerable catheter the Enzo. VasCon’s existing cardiovascular products will continue to be sold through non-Micrus distribution channels.

Micrus, through its subsidiary, acquired assets of VasCon for an up-front payment of about $5 million, paid in cash and Micrus stock, and performance based earn-out payments over three years.

Certain VasCon personnel have become employees of Micrus Design Technology. Mitch Auran, formerly VasCon’s president and CFO, has been appointed vice president of the newly formed Micrus subsidiary.

Founded in 2000, VasCon has made diagnostic catheters, guiding catheters, PTCA catheters, catheter sheath introducers, neurological stimulators, hydrophilic coating and stent deployment systems under private label, as well as for a list of blue chip medical device customers.

In other dealmaking news:

• PerkinElmer (Wellesley, Massachusetts) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Evotec Technologies (Hamburg, Germany) in a cash transaction valued at about EUR 23 million ($30.64 million).

Evotec Technologies is a majority owned subsidiary of Evotec AG , which provides systems for confocal imaging, cell handling, ultra-high throughput screening as well as image capture and cellular analysis software. The transaction is expected to occur late December 2006 or early 2007.

“Together with the sale of certain technology assets of Evotec Technologies to Olympus (Tokyo) earlier in the year, the combined divestments value Evotec Technologies at approximately EUR 30 million. The cash proceeds will provide us with additional flexibility to progress and expand our Central Nervous System pipeline,”said Joern Aldag, CEO of Evotec AG.

Evotec Technologies’ high-performance HCS instruments and image analysis software help pharmaceutical, biotechnology and academic researchers automate cell screening and analysis for drug discovery. Included in the company’s portfolio is the Opera HCS platform, a premier tool for high content analysis that combines the precision of confocal microscopy with the throughput required for primary and secondary screening.