EV3 Merges With FoxHollow Technologies

Medical device companies EV3 Inc. of Plymouth and FoxHollow Technologies Inc. of California on Sunday announced their merger in a $780 million cash and stock transaction that is expected to mean more jobs in the Twin Cities. The merger would create a new $1.7 billion company based in Plymouth and run by Jim Corbett, EV3’s president and chief executive officer. In a joint news release, the companies said the move would create a global leader in endovascular devices (things like stents, catheters and other products that treat problems in the body’s network of blood vessels) with net sales next year of well more than $500 million. EV3 has about 1,100 employees, 600 of whom are in the Twin Cities, Corbett said. He expects the number in the metro area to increase with the merger. “It is exciting for us to have an even greater opportunity to make a difference with patients,” Corbett said. Both companies market and develop minimally invasive devices to treat vascular diseases and disorders. “Our goal is to create a global endovascular company,” Corbett said. Once merged, the company will have direct operations or independent-distributor presence in more than 60 countries with more than 1,500 employees. Corbett said his company has been one of the most prolific product innovators in the field over the past five years. FoxHollow, Corbett said, is a worldwide leader in products doctors use in a procedure called atherectomy, where plaque is removed from the arteries. Together, the two firms plan to introduce more endovascular devices into the marketplace. Dr. John Simpson, chairman and chief executive officer of FoxHollow, is slated to become vice chairman of the board and chief scientist after the merger. After the merger is complete, expected in the fourth quarter of this year, FoxHollow stockholders would own about 41 percent of the combined company, while EV3 stockholders would own about 59 percent. SOURCE: Star Tribune