Royal Philips to Acquire Spectranetics Corporation

June 28, 2017—Royal Philips and Spectranetics Corporation announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement. Philips will tender offers to shareholders for all issued and outstanding shares of Spectranetics in a deal estimated at €1.9 billion.

According to Philips, the acquisition of Spectranetics will further expand and strengthen the company’s image-guided therapy business group. Spectranetics' product lines include vascular interventional devices to treat coronary and peripheral artery disease, as well as lead management for the minimally invasive removal of implanted pacemaker and implantable cardioverter defibrillator leads.

The device portfolio for Spectranetics includes a range of laser atherectomy catheters for treatment of blockages with laser energy in both coronary and peripheral arteries; the AngioSculpt scoring balloon used to mechanically push a blockage aside in both peripheral and coronary arteries; the AngioSculptX scoring balloon, which is the only drug-coated scoring balloon in the market in Europe; and the Stellarex drug-coated balloon, which treats common-to-complex lesions while inhibiting the recurrence of these blockages. The AngioSculptX and Stellarex devices are not currently available for sale in the United States.

“Building on the successful integration of the Volcano acquisition in early 2015, we are now accelerating our strategic expansion into therapy devices with the agreement to acquire Spectranetics,” said Frans van Houten, CEO of Royal Philips. “Spectranetics’ highly competitive product range, integrated with our portfolio of interventional imaging systems, devices, software, and services will enable clinicians to decide, guide, treat, and confirm the appropriate cardiac and peripheral vascular treatment to deliver enhanced care for patients with better outcomes.”

In the company’s announcement, Philips highlighted the Stellarex drug-coated balloon as a key growth driver in Spectranetics’ portfolio. Stellarex is CE Marked and currently being reviewed by the US Food and Drug Administration for premarket approval in the United States. Philips also noted that Stellarex has shown excellent clinical performance with positive outcomes in the most complex patient population studied in drug-coated balloon IDE trials.

“Combining Philips’ innovations in image-guided therapy with Spectranetics’ portfolio and expertise in the therapeutic device space will create exciting opportunities and allow us to accelerate growth,” said Scott Drake, President and CEO of Spectranetics. “As part of Philips, we will have the scale and resources to expand Spectranetics’ portfolio of highly differentiated products, our robust innovation pipeline, and our clinical data compendium. This transaction is a testament to the hard work and dedication of Spectranetics’ talented teammates.”

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2017, following customary closing conditions.