Medical Device Earn-Outs More Common As Buyers Hedge Bets

Article preview from Start Up - April, 2010

A review of mergers-and-acquisitions data in our Elsevier Strategic Transactions database suggests that strategic buyers are more interested than ever in hedging their bets by structuring acquisitions around earn-out payments, which come due once the acquired company delivers on its promises.

Medical Device Earn-Outs More Common As Buyers Hedge Bets

Article preview from Start Up - April, 2010

No one particularly enjoys taking risks these days. A fair number of venture capitalists, for example, are increasingly basing their investment decisions upon how a company has mitigated and managed every conceivable risk facing start-ups today – technology, regulatory approval, and reimbursement. In exchange for safety, venture capitalists might be willing to invest a little more capital and accept slightly less frothy rates of returns on investment. Safety, like everything, comes with a price.

Corporate acquirers, not surprisingly, are equally if not more risk adverse. Clearly, large medical device corporations still find a rich source of innovation outside their own corporate walls. And they're willing to pay the price to secure what they see as the best opportunities for growth. But they're being cautious. A review of merger-and-acquisition data in Elsevier's Strategic Transactions suggests that strategic buyers are more interested than ever in hedging their bets by structuring acquisitions around earn-out payments, which come due once the acquired company delivers on its promises.

Clearly, sellers would prefer to avoid the structured earn-out, choosing to receive their full payment up front. And until 2008, when the wheels popped off the economy's wagon, sellers – venture capitalists or corporate owners looking for a spin-out – sat in the driver's seat at the negotiating table. In 2008, only 9% of the medical device acquisitions recorded in our database reported an earn-out clause, a considerable drop from the 20% in 2007. But the good times were short-lived. That percentage climbed to 13% in 2009 – although it's a bit of a surprise that it wasn't higher – and so far it's 31% year-to-date in 2010.

-Tom Salemi

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Companies mentioned in this article:

ApaTech Ltd.

Baxter International Inc.

Baxter AG

Medtronic Inc.

Medtronic Ablation Frontiers LLC

Medtronic CoreValve LLC

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