Centerpulse Ltd has closed the sale of Vascutek Ltd. to Terumo Corporation of Japan. On November 7, 2002, Centerpulse also announced the closing of the sale of IntraTherapeutics Inc to ev3 Inc, a portfolio company of private equity firms Warburg Pincus LLC and The Vertical Group. The closing of these transactions represents Centerpulse's successful exit from the vascular devices market.
Centerpulse had previously announced the sale of Vascutek for USD 170 million on October 4, 2002, and the sale of IntraTherapeutics for USD 95 million on September 3, 2002. The proceeds from the two divestitures will be used to redeem parts of the credit facility, which Centerpulse used to finance the Class Action Settlement. The sale process for Centerpulse's Cardiac Division continues to proceed according to plan, and is expected to close by year end or early next year.
Centerpulse's subsidiaries develop, produce, and distribute medical implants and biological materials for cardiovascular and orthopaedic markets worldwide. As part of the company's efforts to refocus strategic emphasis on the core sectors of orthopaedic, spine and dental implants, current efforts to divest the cardiovascular business continue to be pursued.