U.K.'s Smith & Nephew Acquires Russian Manufacturer
Smith & Nephew, a medical technology manufacturing company, has announced the acquisition of Russian trauma and orthopedics business DeOst and DC, a manufacturing company. This deal, details of which were not disclosed, is the most recent in a series of buy-ups undertaken to expand Smith & Nephew’s market share in orthopedics.
A spokesman from Smith & Nephew remarked in a press release that the Russian government recently has made a push toward the support of Russian-made goods, and this move allows Smith & Nephew, a British company, to continue to grow its business in Russia through established commercial channels while employing 350 new Russian employees.
According to the press release, DeOst has distributed Smith & Nephew products since 2009, and DL manufactures mid-tier products, key for reaching a broad Russian customer base.
“Smith & Nephew has grown its business in Russia since 2005. This investment, in line with our strategy to build our platform in the Emerging Markets, significantly boosts our local presence and prospects and will enable us to take advantage of market dynamics and better serve Russian customers,” said Oliver Bohuon, CEO of Smith & Nephew.
According to Becker’s Spine Review, this is the latest in a string of strategic acquisitions that Smith & Nephew has made over the past few years. In 2007, the company acquired the Swiss-based Plus Orthopedics and U.S. wound-care business BlueSky.
In December 2012, Smith & Nephew picked up Healthpoint Biotherapetuics, a specialist in bioactives for advanced wound management and, this year, the company purchased the U.S. marketing rights for Zimmer’s Unicondylar High-Flex Knee system.
Last month, Smith & Nephew settled a 10-year-long court battle in its case against Arthex, which cited patent infringement over technology that uses suture anchors to surgically reattach soft tissue to bone. Though Arthex still is contesting some aspects of a U.S. District Court’s 2013 decision, the company already has paid out $99 million towards the terms of the judgement.
Analysts at Proactive Investors have marked Smith & Nephew as a company that is ripe for buy-out, and some big names — such as U.S. biotech Stryker and Johnson & Johnson — have shown interest in the company, whose business seems to be ever-expanding.
Smith & Nephew is the UK’s largest medical equipment company, with an estimated value of $15.5 billion and a 10.3 percent share of the U.S. orthopedics market. Considering the U.S.’ aging population, Smith & Nephew’s corner of the market in long-lasting knee replacements is expected to grow exponentially, and analysts say that it’s only a matter of time before it’s snatched up.