FRANCE – ArchiMed, a French investment firm focused on the healthcare sector, has agreed to buy Natus Medical for approximately US$1.2 billion.

Natus plays a significant role in neurodiagnostics, pediatric retinal imaging, and infant hearing screening.

It offers medical device solutions for screening, diagnosis, and treatment of brain, neural pathway, and eight sensory nervous system disorders.

The company provides hardware, software, and algorithms, as well as consumables, for the acquisition and monitoring of physiological signals and the body’s response.

Natus shareholders are eligible to receive US$33.50 in cash for each share of Natus common stock held under the terms of the merger agreement.

According to the medical device company, the purchase price represents a 29 percent premium over the closing price of its common stock on April 14, 2022.

Natus Medical president and chief executive officer Thomas J Sullivan said: “ArchiMed’s mix of operational, medical, scientific and financial expertise will help us continue our mission to serve our customers while delivering immediate value to shareholders.”

company may solicit proposals from other parties and respond to any unsolicited offers that may be a superior proposal for a period of 30 days.

It also has the option to terminate the current merger agreement with ArchiMed in order to sign a better proposal in exchange for a customary termination fee.

Natus chairman Joshua H Levine said: “The sale of Natus to ArchiMed will provide our shareholders with immediate and substantial cash value, as well as a compelling premium, and the Board has unanimously agreed that this transaction is in the best interests of our shareholders.”

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of this year, subject to customary closing conditions such as regulatory approvals and Natus shareholders’ approval.

Natus will become a private company after the merger is completed, and its shares will no longer be listed on any public market.

For the transaction, Davis Polk & Wardwell is acting as legal advisor while Stifel is serving as a financial advisor to Natus.

At the same time, Pfizer Australia, a wholly owned subsidiary of Pfizer, has signed a binding scheme implementation deed to acquire ResApp Health.

ResApp, a digital health company based in Brisbane, creates mobile apps for diagnosing and managing respiratory disorders.

The machine learning algorithms developed by the company use sound to detect the severity of respiratory conditions, eliminating the need for additional hardware.

Pfizer will acquire ResApp for A$0.115 per share in cash, representing a total equity value of approximately US$74.3 million (A$100 million) under the terms of the proposed acquisition.

Certain regulatory approvals, including those from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, are required for the scheme (ACCC).

ResApp has also signed a research and development licence agreement (R&D Licence) for the development of Covid-19 products in addition to the scheme.

ResApp’s legal advisor in connection with the proposed transaction is DLA Piper, and its financial advisor is Azure Capital.

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