Fresenius Faces Regulatory Delays in $2 Billion Acquisition of NxStage Medical

On January 2, 2019, VCBeat (WeChat Official Account: vcbeat) learned from foreign media reports that Fresenius (NYSE ticker: FMS) stated it was still seeking approval from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for its $2 billion merger with NxStage Medical (NASDAQ ticker: NXTM).

Due to an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission, NxStage Medical postponed the merger plan in October 2017. The plan was initially announced in August 2017 and has been underway for nearly a year and a half.

According to foreign media reports, in the latest update released late last week, Fresenius Medical Care stated that it is still seeking approval from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and expects the acquisition to be completed early next year.

Although Fresenius Medical Care had hoped to complete its acquisition of NxStage Medical by the end of 2018, the expected closing date for the acquisition was postponed from October 2019 to February 5, 2019.

In July this year, the German renal care giant and U.S. medical technology company NxStage Medical extended the closing deadline for the transaction from August 7 to November 5, a 90-day extension, but stated that they still expect to complete the deal within 2018.

A year ago, the Federal Trade Commission stated that it sought additional information on the details of the transaction; Fresenius Medical Care is a customer of NxStage Medical, which would complicate the antitrust implications of this acquisition. In July 2017, NxStage agreed to divest its Medisystems lineage business to B. Braun to address the concerns of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

Fresenius Medical Care’s acquisition of NxStage Medical aims to further consolidate and strengthen its leadership in the global home dialysis market and expand its presence in the U.S. critical care sector.

Fresenius Medical Care is the world’s largest integrated company providing dialysis products and services for patients with chronic renal failure, headquartered in Bad Homburg, Germany. Through its network of 2,716 dialysis clinics across North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia-Pacific, and Africa, Fresenius Medical Care provides dialysis treatment to 210,191 patients worldwide. The company’s dialysis product portfolio includes hemodialysis machines, dialyzers, and related disposable products. Fresenius Medical Care is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FME, FME3) and the New York Stock Exchange (FMS, FMS/P).

NxStage Medical is a medical device company headquartered in Massachusetts, USA, that integrates the research and development, manufacturing, and sales of products for renal failure, fluid overload, and related blood therapies and procedures.

The company’s primary product is the NxStage System One (the System One). This product is marketed to hospitals for the treatment of acute renal failure and conditions involving fluid overload. In addition to the System One, NxStage offers a range of disposable extracorporeal products primarily used for central dialysis therapy in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). This product line includes hemodialysis infusion sets, arteriovenous fistula needles, and puncture needles. The company’s vascular access product portfolio comprises the ReadySet High-Performance Vascular Access Series (ReadySet) and the Streamlined Air-Free Vascular Access Series (Streamlined).