Natus Medical to Acquire SonaMed Corp.

Natus Medical Incorporated today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately held SonaMed Corporation. Massachusetts based SonaMed manufactures and markets the Clarity Screener and associated disposable supplies that aid medical practitioners in screening for hearing loss in newborns. Natus has agreed to acquire all outstanding shares of SonaMed capital stock in a cash transaction. The agreement has received the approval of the Boards of Directors of both companies and is subject to the approval of SonaMed stockholders and customary closing conditions. Certain stockholders of SonaMed have entered into voting agreements by which they have agreed to vote more than 50% of the outstanding SonaMed capital stock in favor of the transaction. The parties expect the acquisition to be completed in approximately 40 days. Other terms of the transaction were not disclosed. SonaMed reported revenue of $3.5 million for its year ended December 31, 2007. Jim Hawkins, President and Chief Executive Officer of Natus commented, “SonaMed has successfully created a distinct presence in the domestic newborn hearing screening market. We believe SonaMed is a very well run company that has been consistently profitable for many years and we expect this acquisition to be accretive to earnings per share in the first full quarter of ownership.” “We expect the Clarity screener to fill out our product line in newborn hearing screening,” added Hawkins. “With two-thirds of Sonamed’s revenue coming from disposable supplies, combined with their high gross profit margin, we believe this is an ideal fit for our business model.” About Natus Medical Natus is a leading provider of healthcare products used for the screening, detection, treatment, monitoring and tracking of common medical ailments such as hearing impairment, neurological dysfunction, epilepsy, sleep disorders, and newborn care. Product offerings include computerized neurodiagnostic systems for audiology, neurology, polysomnography, and neonatology, as well as newborn care products such as hearing screening systems, phototherapy devices for the treatment of newborn jaundice, head-cooling products for the treatment of brain injury in newborns, and software systems for managing and tracking disorders and diseases for public health laboratories. Additional information about Natus Medical can be found at www.natus.com. This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, particularly statements regarding the expectations, beliefs, plans, intentions and strategies of Natus. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the benefits of the acquisition of SonaMed by Natus, including the expected accretive impact of the acquisition on the earnings of Natus and the alignment of the acquisition with the Company’s business model. These statements relate to future events or Natus’ future financial performance or results, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are only predictions and the actual events or results may differ materially. Natus cannot provide any assurance that its future results or the results implied by the forward-looking statements will meet expectations. Our future results could differ materially due to a number of factors, including the effects of competition, the demand for our products and services, our ability to expand our sales in international markets, our ability to maintain current sales levels in a mature domestic market, our ability to control costs, and risks associated with bringing new products to market and integrating acquired businesses. Natus disclaims any obligation to update information contained in any forward-looking statement. More information about potential risk factors that could affect the business and financial results of Natus is included in Natus’ annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, and its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and in other reports filed from time to time by Natus with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. SOURCE: Natus Medical Incorporated