Boston Scientific is adding a familiar face to its family of medical devices.
The medtech announced Wednesday that it has struck a deal with Korea’s Synergy Innovation to purchase its majority stake in M.I.Tech, a maker and distributor of non-vascular metal stents. The buyout will hand over ownership of about 64% of the company to Boston Scientific.
Boston Sci is offering up 14,500 South Korean won (about $11 U.S.) per M.I.Tech share, with the total asking price coming out to 291.2 billion won, or about $230 million.
The companies plan to close the deal sometime in the second half of this year, and Boston Scientific said it isn’t expecting the acquisition to have any material impact on its earnings per share for 2022.
M.I.Tech is the developer of the Hanarostent technology, a line of non-vascular, self-expanding metal stents that are used in endoscopic and urologic procedures to clear obstructions in the airway and gastrointestinal system.
The devices are equipped with the company’s unique hook-cross nitinol design, which is meant to give them a more natural and flexible fit as they’re placed within various areas of the GI system, including the biliary tree, pancreatic duct, esophagus, colon and duodenum. The stents also feature flared ends to keep them in place.
Boston Scientific is no stranger to the Hanarostent, having signed a deal with M.I.Tech in 2015 to distribute the devices in Japan. But it did not disclose how the acquisition deal might affect M.I.Tech’s existing relationship with Olympus, which has its own exclusive distribution agreement for the Hanarostent technology in the U.S.
“M.I.Tech is an innovator in non-vascular stent development, with product offerings that complement our existing stent portfolio, including the differentiated Axios stent and electrocautery enhanced delivery system and the flexible and conformable Agile esophageal stent system,” said Art Butcher, executive VP and group president, of Boston Sci’s MedSurg and Asia Pacific divisions.
“We are committed to investing in technologies that advance care for patients around the world and are eager to work more closely with M.I.Tech to expand their international footprint,” Butcher said.
The M.I.Tech grab marks the first bout of new M&A activity for Boston Scientific this year. That’s a stark change from 2021, when the company snapped up a total of five targets between January and October, three of which were acquired in deals that surpassed the $1 billion mark.
Its most recent buyout was announced in early October and closed in February of this year. That transaction saw Boston Sci hand over an upfront payment of $1.75 billion for Baylis Medical and its minimally invasive devices designed to navigate the chambers of the heart. When it first laid out the plan to acquire Baylis, Boston Scientific said it was expecting the new addition to tack on about $200 million in net sales for 2022.