An Orthopedic Giant Re-emerges: DJO to Return?

At the beginning of March, diversified tech firm Colfax Corp. proclaimed its intention to split in two, dividing its fabrication technology and specialty medical technology businesses into two differentiated, independent, publicly-traded companies. As it stands, according to press statements made by Colfax, the two businesses will fully leave the nest in the first quarter of 2022. The firm said it had not yet determined the form in which the separation would be executed, but intends for it to be tax-free to shareholders.

The fabtech company will be molded from Colfax’s ESAB brand, with welding and cutting products for construction, shipbuilding, and other industrial applications.

“Now is the right time to build on the momentum in both businesses and enable each to better capitalize on its distinct opportunities,” Colfax president and CEO Matt Treotola told the press. “Our abilities to successfully develop talent, drive innovation, leverage our Colfax Business System for continuous improvement, and acquire attractive businesses are core to both MedTech and FabTech.”

The standalone medtech company should sound very familiar to ODT readers, particularly those that peruse the magazine’s annual Top 10 Global Orthopedic Device Firms report—musculoskeletal health, joint reconstruction, vascular health, and pain management company DJO. Colfax acquired the billion-dollar orthopedic firm in 2019 for $3.15 billion. In what may have been an early warning of the spinoff, Colfax beefed up the DJO division with three significant deals in the past six months.

Last November saw the firm acquire fellow orthopedic giant Stryker’s STAR (Scandinavian Total Ankle Replacement) system, a mobile-bearing total ankle replacement approved in the U.S. for uncemented use. DJO also nabbed Stryker’s Silicone Surface Replacement, and TACTYS finger joint arthroplasty products. The move was a counter to antitrust regulations that threatened to derail the $4 billion Stryker-Wright Medical deal—the overlap in Stryker and Wright’s ankle businesses that came under particular scrutiny. A few days following the shedding of those product lines, the Stryker-Wright deal closed.

A month later, DJO welcomed therapeutic laser technology company LiteCure into its fold due to synergies with its Chattanooga rehabilitation business. According to DJO, LiteCure’s LightForce medical therapy lasers are found in over 250 professional and college athletic training rooms. LightForce therapy lasers flood injured tissue with photons, energizing cells to promote increased circulation to the affected area and ultimately reduce pain. Also added to this portfolio was LiteCure’s Companion laser therapy for animal health.

Continuing its monthly spree, DJO fortified its foot and ankle arsenal yet again by acquiring Trilliant Surgical. DJO obtained Trilliant’s broad portfolio covering the universe of foot recon/fixation procedures. One offering of note is the Arsenal Foot Plating System, which touts features to boost implant placement flexibility and speed to support ease of use, less, waste, and reduced OR time for a number of mid- and hind-foot procedures. DJO plans to extend Aresenal’s purview to the ankle as well. The deal signified DJO’s play to become a leading force in the high-growth orthopedic extremities market.

“We are committed to building our Reconstructive segment and believe that the foot and ankle space is a great fit for our focused innovation and solutions approach that has allowed DJO to be a growth leader in the upper extremity market for many years,” DJO CEO Brady Shirley commented to the press.

The resulting medtech company will have a new, as-yet-undisclosed name. It will provide surgical implants, injury prevention products, and recovery devices from sites in Wilmington, Del.—where it will be headquartered—and Dallas, Texas. Treotola, a former Danaher life sciences group executive, will lead the new medtech company. Shirley will become chief operating officer, and current Colfax CFO Chris Hix will keep his current position at the medtech spinoff. Colfax EVP Shyam Kambeyanda will lead the fabrication technology company.

Colfax expects its Medical Technology segment to pull in $1.4 billion in revenue this year. Given this information and comparing it to 2019’s ODT Top 10 list, the unnamed medtech company—which Colfax would do well to name DJO and retain brand strength—would fall in the sixth or seventh spot on the list of the top orthopedic companies by revenue. This ranking may depend on the size of fellow orthopedic giant Zimmer Biomet’s planned spine and dental business spinoff, which is also expected to close next year.