Monday March 22, 8:12 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Imatron Announces Agreement to Sell HeartScan-Houston and Washington, D.C. to The Vital Imaging Companies
SO. SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 22, 1999-- Imatron Inc. (Nasdaq:IMAT - news) announced today that it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with The Vital Imaging Companies for the sale of its HeartScan Imaging Inc. operations located in Houston, Texas and Washington, D.C. Consistent with the Memorandum of Understanding, the transaction is expected to close on or before March 31, 1999.
S. Lewis Meyer, Chief Executive Officer of Imatron, stated, ''This sale of the HeartScan operations in Houston and Washington, D.C. is consistent with our objective of focusing all of our resources on system sales, customer support and technology development. Since its inception, HeartScan has served us well in developing a significantly greater public awareness and medical community support of the power and importance of Ultrafast CT® and the Coronary Artery Scan. We are pleased to have The Vital Imaging Companies invest new capital in the further development of public and physician awareness of Ultrafast CT and its ultimate impact in the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease.''
Mr. Meyer continued, ''This streamlining of our operations further positions the company to focus on the implementation of aggressive sales initiatives under the leadership of Terry Ross, Imatron's President. We look forward to reporting the results of these efforts.''
Richard E. King, Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Vital Imaging Companies stated, ''With the acquisition of the well-established HeartScan Centers in Houston and Washington, D.C., we are confident that we have a sound foundation upon which to build market leadership in this industry. We intend to open a center in San Diego in August 1999, with other major cities to follow. Our goal is to bring the benefits of this technology to more people, while building a profitable company under the proven operations management of Gerald Friede. Mr. Friede, who joins us in early April as President and Chief Operating Officer, organized and managed the successful center at the Cooper Clinic in Dallas.''
The Vital Imaging Companies are comprised of Vital Imaging, LLC, a California Limited Liability Company and affiliated entities.
Imatron, Inc. is primarily engaged in designing, manufacturing, marketing, and supporting high performance computed tomography (CT) scanners based on the Company's proprietary scanning electron beam technology. Ultrafast CT is a registered trademark of Imatron. Imatron's Ultrafast CT scanner is now in use at major medical centers around the world, including The Mayo Clinic, University of Iowa, National Institutes of Health, UCLA, Stanford University, University of Illinois, The Arizona Heart Institute, The University of Graz, The Royal Brompton Hospital in London, Tokyo University Hospital and Beijing Hospital.
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that are based on current expectations and estimates about the industry in which Imatron operates, the estimated impact of certain technological advances, the estimated impact of published research studies on scanner sales and procedures, as well as management's beliefs and assumptions. It is important to note that the Company's actual results could differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements. The factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, among others: failed clinical demonstration of certain asserted technological advantages and diagnostic capabilities; reliance on product distributors; competition in the diagnostic imaging market; failure to improve product reliability or introduce new product models and enhancements; delays in production and difficulty in obtaining components and sub-assemblies from limited sources of supply; inability to meet cash-on-delivery or prepayment terms from vendors; determinations by regulatory and administrative government authorities; patent expiration and denial of patent applications; the high cost of the scanner as compared to commercially available CT scanners; and the risk factors listed from time to time in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission reports, including their reports on Form 10-K for their current fiscal year.
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Contact:
Imatron Inc., South San Francisco
S. Lewis Meyer, CEO or Gary Brooks, VP Finance/CFO or
Robin Kelley, Investor Relations, 650/583-9964
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