A Medical Device Daily

Kimball Electronics Group (Jasper, Indiana), through related subsidiaries, has acquired the manufacturing operation of the diagnostics division of Bayer Healthcare (Leverkusen, Germany), located in Bridgend, Wales. Kimball purchased the equipment and inventory and hired the 164 Bayer employees working at the site. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Kimball Electronics is a contract electronics manufacturing services company that specializes in durable electronics with applications in the medical, industrial controls, public safety and automotive industries. Kimball said it will continue to provide manufacturing services to Bayer for the products Bayer currently manufactures at the plant as well as seek new medical customers for the facility.

In other dealmaking activity:

• Omron Healthcare (Bannockburn, Illinois) reported completing the acquisition of Colin Medical Instruments (CMI; San Antonio). The announcement follows Omron Healthcare Co.'s (Kyoto, Japan) acquisition of Colin Medical Technology (Komaki, Japan) in June 2005.

“The acquisition of CMI enables Omron Healthcare to become a unique company providing a wide range of product offerings in medical devices for use in hospitals and in the home,“ said Isao Ogino, CEO of Omron Healthcare.

Colin products include vital signs monitors, inpatient blood pressure monitoring devices and vascular screening devices – all used in the professional setting. Omron Healthcare's home healthcare products include Omron brand blood pressure monitors, respiratory, weight management and thermometry products.

While CMI's production function will continue, through this acquisition, CMI's sales and marketing functions will be transitioned to Omron.

Omron Healthcare is the North American subsidiary of Omron Healthcare Co., a manufacturer of blood pressure monitors for home use. It also provides products for respiratory ailments, weight management and thermometry.

• Henry Schein (Melville, New York), a provider of healthcare products and services to office-based practitioners in North America and Europe, reported completing the sale of its Hospital Supply business (including extended care). The company previously reported its decision to divest the Hospital Supply business, an asset with few synergies with core operations, it said, in October.

• Community Health Systems (CHS; Brentwood, Tennessee) said it has completed the acquisition of two hospitals from the Baptist Health System (Birmingham, Alabama): Baptist Medical Center-DeKalb and Baptist Medical Center-Cherokee .

Both hospitals are the sole providers of hospital services in their communities and will be renamed DeKalb Regional Medical Center and Cherokee Medical Center, respectively. The transaction was effective on April 1.

CHS is an operator of general acute care hospitals in non-urban communities throughout the country.

• LifePoint Hospitals (Brentwood, Tennessee) reported completing its previously disclosed sale of 63-bed Smith County Memorial Hospital (Carthage, Tennessee) to Sumner Regional Health Systems (Gallatin, Tennessee), as previously disclosed (Medical Device Daily, Feb. 6, 2006). LifePoint provides healthcare services in non-urban communities. Of the company's 51 hospitals, 49 are in communities where LifePoint Hospitals is the sole community hospital provider.

• ResCare (Louisville, Kentucky), a provider of residential, training, educational and support services for people with disabilities and special needs, has purchased the assets of Hometown Opportunities (Hazard, Kentucky), a provider of residential, support coordination and community habilitation services to individuals with developmental, intellectual, cognitive and other disabilities. ResCare said it expects the acquisition to generate about $3.5 million of annual revenue.