Stryker To Purchase Ascent Healthcare Solutions for $525M

Stryker Corp. has agreed to acquire Ascent Healthcare Solutions Inc., a reprocessor and remanufacturer of medical devices in the United States, for $525 million in cash, according to the Kalamazoo, Mich., firm.

Ascent Healthcare Solutions, based in Phoenix, Ariz., was formed through the 2005 merger of Vanguard Medical Concepts and Alliance Medical Corp., two players in the reprocessing and remanufacturing of medical devices.

With two reprocessing facilities in Phoenix, Ariz., and Lakeland, Fla., Ascent currently provides its services to 1,800 hospitals and many group purchasing organizations throughout North America.

Ascent’s products include cardiovascular, orthopedic, gastroenterology and general surgery devices. It employs 900, and sales reached in excess of $100 million last year, according to the company.

“Joining forces with Stryker, a global medical technology leader, creates an ideal situation. Together, Stryker Corporation and Ascent Healthcare Solutions will be in a position to offer multiple ways to serve a sector that is under increased pressure to control costs and reduce its environmental footprint while maintaining the highest possible quality in patient care,”Rick Ferreira, chief operating officer of Ascent Healthcare Solutions, told Orthopedic Design & Technology.

The business will become a division of Stryker operating under the MedSurg group of businesses and will continue to be known as Ascent Healthcare Solutions.