St Jude Medical acquires PE-backed Endosense

Kim Richters
20 August 2013

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Medical device company St Jude Medical has wholly acquired Endosense, a medical technology company backed by several private equity firms, for CHF 159m.

The terms of the transaction also entail an additional contingent cash payment of up to CHF 150m.

Minnesota-based St Jude Medical bought Endosense from Gimv, Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners (EdRip), NeoMed Management, VI Partners, Sectoral Asset Management, Ysios Capital Partners, Initiative Capital Romandie and NGN Capital.

Gimv stated that the return it received over the holding period was higher than its historical average IRR of 11.5%.

In 2009, Gimv invested CHF 7m in Endosense as part of a series-B investment round worth CHF 38m, led by EdRip. Three years later, Endosense received a $40.3m series-C funding round. The firm received CHF 22.6m in its first financing round in 2005.

Company
Endosense was founded in 2003 and is based in Geneva. The company aims to improve the efficacy, safety and accessibility of catheter ablation for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias. Catheter ablation is a treatment involving a special catheter being advanced into the patient's left heart chamber via the femoral vein.

People
Vitali Verin, Giovanni Leo and Nicolas Aeby co-founded Endosense. Daniel J Starks has been St Jude Medical's chairman, president and CEO since 2004. Koen Dejonckheere is Gimv's CEO.

Advisers
Equity – Bank of America Merrill Lynch (M&A); Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, Homburger (Legal).
Vendor – Perella Weinberg Partners (M&A); Baker & McKenzie (Legal).