Radiology vendor Merit Medical Systems is exploring a sale with a market value of $3.5 billion, according to a report published Wednesday.
Private equity firms have shown interest, and the publicly traded company is now working with an investment bank to solicit bids, anonymous sources told Reuters. Founded in 1987 and based in Jordan, Utah, Merit Medical manufactures and markets various devices used in interventional radiology and other specialties, including catheters and guide wires.
A spokesman did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment. Investment banking firm Piper Sandler said it sees a potential private equity takeover of Merit Medical as “odd,” given that the manufacturer has already been working to bolster its cash flow and efficiencies, Seeking Alpha reported Thursday. Investors have also inquired about succession plans for Merit’s 72-year-old CEO Fred Lampropoulos.
"For those reasons, even if the timing of a sale to private equity seems odd on the surface, we can't totally rule out a transaction materializing," Piper Sandler analyst Jason Bednar said Wednesday.
Merit Medical also recently reported year-end earnings results, logging $1.075 billion in revenue, up 11.5% from the previous year, and notched FDA “breakthrough” status for a new knee pain therapy on Monday.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.