USA – Stryker has signed a US$3 billion deal to acquire Vocera Communications, which will significantly reshape the company’s digital patient outreach efforts.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, clinicians and surgeons needed to find new ways to connect with their patients remotely, as well as streamline their efforts to help meet the high demand for real-time, personal interactions.

Stryker stated that it intends to use Vocera’s portfolio, which includes smartphone apps and workflow analytics software, as well as its own hand-held communications hardware for hospital staff, to connect the medtech’s various data-generating medical devices.

Stryker said Vocera brings a “highly complementary and innovative portfolio” to Stryker’s medical division that will enhance the company’s advanced digital health care offerings and further accelerate Stryker’s focus on preventing adverse events throughout the continuum of care.

Similarly, commenting on the deal Kevin Lobo, chair and CEO of Stryker said, “This acquisition provides significant opportunities to advance innovations and accelerate our digital aspirations.

We welcome the Vocera team to Stryker and look forward to working together to enable safer patient care and help our customers improve outcomes.”

Stryker will pay US$79.25 in cash for each of Vocera’s outstanding shares, totaling approximately US$2.97 billion, under the terms of the agreement.

When the value of convertible notes is factored in, the total enterprise value of the transaction is around US$3.09 billion. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of March.

Vocera’s customers include nearly 1,900 hospitals and healthcare facilities. The San Jose, California-based company reported US$63.6 million in revenue in the third quarter of 2021, representing an 18% increase over the same three months the previous year and resulting in just over US$2 million in net income.

Vocera projected revenues of between US$226 million and US$233 million for full-year 2021 when its quarterly earnings were released last October.

Vocera announced in November that it would collaborate with Amazon to bring its programs to the retail giant’s Alexa devices, with the goal of providing a HIPAA-compliant healthcare app for patients and their families to use at home and in hospitals.

Any verbal requests made to Alexa would be analyzed and routed to the most appropriate member of the patient’s care team.

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