NuVasive Inc., a provider of spine technology innovation, focused on transforming spine surgery with minimally disruptive, procedurally-integrated solutions, and SafePassage, a privately-held provider of intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM) services, have announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which NuVasive will acquire SafePassage. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
 
With the addition of SafePassage, NuVasive Clinical Services (NCS) solidifies its leadership position as the largest provider of outsourced IONM services with more than 550 neurophysiologists and oversight physicians in the U.S., allowing for the delivery of services to over 1,000 customers and 3,000 surgeons. This joining of forces strengthens the company's intraoperative neuromonitoring business line, which was formed in July 2016 when the company acquired Biotronic NeuroNetwork and combined its service offerings with that of the company's subsidiary, Impulse Monitoring, Inc. Since then, NCS has further scaled the business, achieving operational efficiencies and driving better clinical outcomes. Following the acquisition of SafePassage, NCS is expected to support greater than 100,000 IONM cases annually in the U.S. 
 
SafePassage is also complementary to the current NCS geographical footprint with limited overlap between existing healthcare accounts. The acquisition helps further accelerate the services business growth and enables deeper reach in key strategic markets while adding significant new coverage, particularly in the densely populated New York region and along the East Coast where NuVasive has traditionally had a strong spine procedural-selling presence.
 
"The acquisition of SafePassage advances the NuVasive services strategy and expands our ability to transform how spine procedures are approached, measured and valued from a clinical and economic perspective," said Skip Kiil, executive vice president, Global Commercial of NuVasive. "As the only spine company in the world with dedicated neuromonitoring services operating at this elevated scale, and now with increased case coverage, we are uniquely positioned to deliver greater value across our procedurally-integrated portfolio.
 
"Just as important, the highly trained and well-respected SafePassage leadership and clinicians have earned the industry reputation of being among the best in the business, and we're excited to partner with them to provide consistent and quality care to hundreds of surgeons and thousands of patients each year," continued Kiil.
 
"For more than a decade, the team at SafePassage has been dedicated to serving patients and surgeons with premium quality intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring services to improve patient outcomes and reduce economic risk for hospitals and surgeons," said Dan Siegel, chief executive officer of SafePassage. "We are extremely passionate about our vision to eradicate preventable healthcare injury, the third leading cause of death in the United States, and I look forward to joining forces with NuVasive to further our mission worldwide." 
 
NuVasive expects the transaction to be accretive to the company's non-GAAP earnings per share (EPS) in 2018 and beyond. NuVasive also expects the transaction to support its longer-term targets for revenue growth and expansion of its non-GAAP operating and EBITDA margins. Additionally, the transaction is expected to meet the company's goals for return on invested capital for tuck-in acquisitions in three years, consistent with the company's previously stated acquisition criteria.
 
The transaction is expected to close in January 2018, subject to customary closing conditions.