Stryker Completes Berchtold Holding Acquisition

Stryker Corp. has completed its acquisition of German surgical room equipment maker Berchtold Holding AG.

Stryker announced in February that it negotiated a definitive agreement to buy Berchtold for $172 million.

Berchtold is a 90-year-old healthcare equipment company that makes surgical tables, equipment booms and surgical lighting systems designed to help surgeons, operating room staffs and intensive care workers work more efficiently. Its product line is expected to complement Stryker Endoscopy’s existing operating room equipment.

Stryker produces a range of minimally invasive endoscopy products, including arthroscopes (used to see into and repair joints), laparascopic instruments (thin, lighted tubes put through an incision to examine abdominal organs and check for such things as fibroids, infections and cysts), urology scopes (those used for navigating ureters, kidneys and other urologic anatomy), and gynecology instruments (those used in minimally invasive gynecological procedures).

It currently is unclear whether the buyout will lead to layoffs at Berchtold or Stryker. Berchtold has been a privately held business that generated about $125 million in sales last year. It operates facilities in Germany and the United States.

There also was no word whether those facilities will be maintained or whether their functions will be melded with exiting Stryker operations.

In a news release, Stryker said the transaction is expected to be neutral to its 2014 earnings per share, excluding acquisition, integration-related and intangible amortization charges.

Stryker is a worldwide manufacturer and marketer of various products including hospital beds, surgical tools, neurotechnology and spine products, and orthopedic implants such as replacement hips and joints. The company is based in Kalamazoo, Mich.