Covidien buys hernia mesh co PolyTouch for $30-40m

This is the third acquisition of an Israeli medical device company announced by Covidien over the past two months.

The acquisition took place in 2011 but is only being reported now and opened a wave of acquisitions of Israeli companies by Covidien. Over the past two months Covidien has acquired pulmonary endoscope developer superDimension for $350 million and capnography respiratory monitors and modules manufacturer Oridion Systems Ltd. (SWX: ORIDN) for $346 million.

Market sources believe that the PolyTouch acquisition was for $30-40 million. Only $1.3 million has been invested in the company, which was only founded in March 2009 by Ofek Levin, Arik Levy and Lena Levin, the winners of BizTEC07 Israel national entrepreneurship competition.

Investors will receive a 23-fold return. The leading investors are Trendlines International Ltd., which founded the company within the Misgav Venture Accelerator, an incubator supported by the Chief Scientist, and Mass Medical Angels, a group of private Israeli and US investors.

PolyTouch has developed a device for the precise and rapid deployment and placement of mesh during laparoscopic soft tissue repair procedures. PatchAssist the leading product, was further developed to become AccuMesh, an innovative endomechanical device facilitating insertion, deployment and placement of mesh during laparoscopic ventral hernia repair. Covidien launched the AccuMesh device earlier this year.

PolyTouch CEO Levin said, "We are thrilled to have found a partner in Covidien for PatchAssist. The rapid development of our technological platform and our success in gaining FDA clearance for this important product has resulted in this transaction."

PolyTouch chairman William Edelman said, "The ability of innovative medical device companies such as PolyTouch to rapidly focus on technologies and products of high clinical need is an important driver of value creation for the clinical community as well as medical device investors. The PolyTouch model of focused investment and dedicated management execution has resulted in this vote of confidence by Covidien, one of the world-premier medical device leaders."

PolyTouch was advised by Morgan Keegan & Company, Inc., now part of Raymond James & Associates, Inc.

Published by Globes, Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 30, 2012

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