Sulzer Brothers Acquiring Intermedics For $800 Million

ANGLETON, Texas (AP) _ Sulzer Brothers Inc. of New York, a subsidiary of the multinational Swiss medical supply company Sulzer Brothers Ltd., has agreed to acquire Intermedics Inc. for $800 million in cash.

A tender offer for the Angleton-based developer of implantable medical devices was expected to commence next Tuesday, Peggy O’Reilly, spokeswoman for Sulzer Brothers in New York, said Thursday.

Sulzer Brothers will begin a cash tender offer for all shares of Intermedics at $43 per share and for all common stock purchase rights warrants of Intermedics for $39.25 per warrant, Ms. O’Reilly said.

Sulzer Brothers Ltd., headquartered in Winterthur, Switzerland, is a major supplier of orthopedic implants in Europe.

Intermedics is a world-wide developer of implantable medical devices including cardiac pacemakers, mechanical heart valve components, orthopedic joints and dental implants.

″Intermedics fits very well into our growth strategy in the U.S. medical technology market,″ said Othmar Hegi, executive president of Sulzer Brothers Ltd. ″Their technology is excellent and we are enthusiastic about their state-of-the-art products.″

In its 1987 fiscal year ended Nov. 1, Intermedics reported net earnings of $20.6 million, or $1.22 per share, on revenue of $193.3 million. For the first six months of its 1988 fiscal year ended May 1, the company reported earnings of $15.1 million, or 88 cents per share, on revenue of $110.2 million.

″The acquisition by Sulzer comes at an appropriate time in the growth cycle of our company,″ said Richard A. Gilleland, chairman and chief executive officer of Intermedics. ″Intermedics has positioned itself for strong growth and profitability in the global market for medical devices, and our affiliation with Sulzer will enhance that objective.″