Press Release:
Subject:
Laserscope Completes Acquisition of Heraeus Surgical; Management Foresees
Increases in Revenue and Profitability
Date:
Tue, 3 Sep 1996 05:19:49 -0700 (PDT)
BusinessWire Press Release:
SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 3, 1996--Laserscope
(NASDAQ: LSCP) announced today that it has completed its acquisition
of Heraeus Surgical Inc.
"We expect the acquisition of Heraeus Surgical to have a very
positive effect on shareholder value while making Laserscope a
stronger, more competitive company," said Robert V. McCormick,
Laserscope president and CEO.
"With combined annual sales of more than $60 million Laserscope
is now one of the world's largest medical laser companies and a
major force in the industry.
"In the short-term," continued McCormick, "we believe the
company is strategically positioned to benefit from on-going growth
in both the leg vein and skin resurfacing markets.
"We have received more than 100 orders since the beginning of
the year for our new Aura Laser System, making substantial inroads
into the growing vascular lesion market which includes leg vein
treatment.
"We will also begin to market aggressively the newly acquired
Paragon(TM) CO2 Laser, capitalizing on the strategies employed in
our successful roll out of the Aura Laser.
"We believe the company's mid-term opportunities lie in
continued development of the operating room systems business of
Heraeus Surgical," said McCormick, "specifically its ceiling-mounted
equipment management and centralized smoke evacuation (CVAC)
systems.
"Potential changes in the healthcare arena could create
considerable market opportunities for their patented CVAC systems
which remove hazardous airborne debris from the operating room.
"We believe longer term opportunities for the company lie in new
regulatory approvals of photodynamic therapy (PDT), an innovative
cancer treatment that utilizes photosensitive drugs and laser light
to selectively kill diseased cells," said McCormick.
To improve profitability further, Laserscope also said it expects
to incrementally reduce operating expenses of the combined company
such that, in 12 months, operating expenses should be more than
$3 million lower than current levels.
"We believe we are well underway in our process of turning
Laserscope around," concluded McCormick. "We believe the outlook for
Laserscope for the foreseeable future is very encouraging
indeed."
The acquisition was approved by Laserscope shareholders at a
special shareholders meeting on Aug. 30, 1996. The transactions were
also finalized on Aug. 30, 1996 at which time Heraeus MED GmbH
received 4,609,345 shares of Laserscope common stock and a cash
payment of $2 million from Laserscope in exchange for all of the
outstanding capital stock of Heraeus Surgical Inc.
Statements in this announcement about future results are
preliminary and based on partial information and management
assumptions.
Except for the historical information presented, the matters
discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements that
involve risks and uncertainties, including the ability to integrate
successfully Heraeus Surgical's business with that of Laserscope and
reduce the combined company's expenses, the timely development and
market acceptance of new and acquired products, the impact of
competitive products and pricing, the effect and timing of relevant
domestic and international regulatory approvals and other risks
detailed from time-to-time in the company's public disclosure filings
with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Copies of the most recent Forms 10K and 10Q are available upon
request from Laserscope's Investor Relations Department. |
