NxStage Hopes Acquisition Of Medisystems Brings Profitability

NxStage Medical (NXTM), a Lawrence, MA, company that makes dialysis systems, plans to acquire the private company whose cartridges are used in its NxStage System One portable kidney dialysis machine. NxStage will pay $78.7 million for Seattle-based Medisystems, which, in addition to the cartridges used in the System One machine, makes hemodialysis blood tubing sets, A.V. fistula needles, and other ancillary hemodialysis disposables.

NxStage is banking on the addition of Medisystems’ assets to bring the company to profitability by the end of 2008.

Medisystems’ president and CEO, David Utterberg, stands to profit heftily from the deal. He owns all of the outstanding shares of his company, which in 2006 recorded revenues of $65.5 million, and is a member of NxStage’s board. His 7% ownership of NxStage common stock would go up to about 23% as a result of this merger. Utterberg will serve in a consulting capacity to the combined company for two years and will remain a NxStage director.

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