A Medical Device Daily

ALIS (Peabody, Massachusetts), a nanotechnology start-up firm developing scanning ion microscopes and imaging systems, reported that it has been acquired by the Nano Technology Systems Division (NTS) of Carl Zeiss (Oberkochen, Germany). ALIS did not disclose any terms of the purchase.

ALIS said that its 36 scientists and engineers will stay with the company, now a subsidiary of Carl Zeiss SMT, and that its core technology and research efforts will remain in Peabody. Bill Ward will remain chief technology officer of the company and ALIS co-founder, Nick Economou, will continue as its CEO.

The company said that future plans include an increase in staff to bring ALIS' helium ion microscopes to market.

“I spent two years looking for the right venture capital team to fund and help guide the company, and it was worth every day,” said Ward, co-founder and inventor of the ALIS technology. “Our investors were key to the early and successful acquisition.”

Founded in 2005 and financed by Kodiak Venture Partners, Arch Ventures and Intel Capital, ALIS has developed a helium ion technology that it says it designed to enable scientists to see at the atomic level “with resolution and material contrast never before observed in the scientific world.”

It said the acquisition will push “major advancements in scientific discovery and innovation” via the helium ion microscope technology, for instance, by enabling the production of “faster and more powerful semiconductors, and reduce the time-to-market of complex pharmaceuticals.”

In other dealmaking activity:

• IDEX (Northbrook, Illinois) reported entering into an agreement to acquire Banjo (Crawfordsville, Indiana), a manufacturer of severe-duty pumps, valves, fittings and systems which serve OEM and after-market applications in agricultural and industrial liquid handling. The purchase price was set at about $183 million in cash, to be funded by IDEX's cash balance and $600 million credit facility, the company said.

Larry Kingsley, CEO and chairman of IDEX, said, “Banjo is a terrific addition to our company and an excellent fit within our highly engineered, applied solutions business profile.” He said that with deal close, Banjo, along with the company's previous acquisitions of EPI and JUN-AIR, could produce annual net sales of about $100 million, with operating margins of 23% to 25%. He said the acquisition is expected to be accretive in the first year.

Subject to regulatory approval, the transaction is expected to close in early October. Banjo reports annual revenues of around $44 million.

IDEX specializes in fluid and metering technologies, health and science technologies, fluid and metering technologies, dispensing equipment, and fire and safety products.

• Acacia Research (Newport Beach, California) reported that Acacia Patent Acquisition, a subsidiary of the Acacia Technologies group specializing in technology licensing, has acquired rights to a patent portfolio relating to imaging technology that aids medical personnel in the examination of patients. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Acacia said the technology can be used to stabilize images for interventional procedures such as cardiac catheters and stents, and for diagnostic procedures such as visualization of arterial lesions.

Paul Ryan, CEO and chairman, said, “Acacia is serving an unmet need in the market for companies that want to generate revenue from the licensing of their patented technologies . . . We now control 48 patent portfolios.”

Acacia Research comprises two operating groups, Acacia Technologies group and CombiMatrix group.

• WebMD Health (New York) reported completing the acquisition of the interactive medical education, promotion and physician recruitment businesses of Medsite (New York), a provider of physician e-detailing services, including program development, targeted recruitment and online distribution and delivery. WebMD paid $41 million in cash at acquisition close, with the purchase price subject to post-closing adjustments.

WebMD said the acquisition will enable it to provide its medical device and pharmaceutical customers with an expanded set of online solutions that increase sales efficiencies of their own direct detailing efforts.

WebMD, a subsidiary of Emdeon, is a provider of health information services to consumers, physicians, healthcare professionals, employers and health plans through its public and private online portals.

• Ocean Tomo Auctions (Chicago) reported that Rotechnical Holdings has consigned U.S. Patent Numbers 6,039,928, 6,301,359, 6,365,113, 6,458,331 and 6,490,351, entitled “Device Sterilization IP Lot,” to be sold at The Ocean Tomo Fall 2006 Live Intellectual Property Auction on Oct. 26 in New York.

This IP portfolio makes use of UV sterilization techniques, applying the technology to an array of common business and consumer devices. Included among these devices are computer keyboards and other related input mechanisms, writing tools, telephones and trash containers. The utilization of UV technology to sterilize widely used devices provides a method whereby germs and viruses, easily spread by contact with such commonly used goods, may be contained and killed.

Ocean Tomo specializes in leveraging intellectual property assets and providing advice in IP-related mergers and acquisitions, valuations, expert services, analytics and IP auctions.