Medline Acquires CareFusion's International Surgical Products Distribution Business

Medline Industries, Inc., a privately held manufacturer and distributor of healthcare products, and CareFusion Corp., a global medical technology company, today announced an agreement to sell the CareFusion International Surgical Products (ISP) distribution business to Medline for approximately $130 million.

The ISP business is based in Rolle, Switzerland, with operations in 16 European and Asian-Pacific countries and distribution and assembly facilities located in Germany, France, Spain and Australia. The business employs more than 850 people and sells medical consumable products in four main categories: drapes and gowns, custom procedure trays, surgeon and exam gloves and fluid management products. The business generates sales of approximately $440 million annually.

"ISP is a strong business with a lot of talented employees who, like us, place a high priority on customer focus, service, quality and integrity," says Andy Mills, president of Medline. "Combining our strong portfolio of products and clinical and supply programs with CareFusion's products and global platform will allow us to bring additional value to our customers."

Medline, recently named one of the "100 Best Places to Work in Healthcare," manufactures and distributes more than 100,000 products to hospitals, extended care facilities, surgery centers, physician offices and home care dealers. Over the past five years, Medline has been the fastest growing distributor of medical and surgical supplies in the U.S., serving as the primary distributor to more than 450 major hospitals and health care systems. With the acquisition of ISP, Medline will become the largest global provider of custom procedure trays.

"The divestiture of ISP will focus CareFusion on the growth opportunities we have outside the United States for our core medical technologies and disposable products," says David Schlotterbeck, former chairman and CEO of CareFusion, who will retire on Feb. 28. "Medline is an ideal fit for our global ISP employees and customers, who will benefit from the alignment with an industry leader in medical products manufacturing and distribution."

As part of the agreement, Medline will continue to distribute CareFusion products in certain geographies. The acquisition is expected to close in April, subject to customary conditions.