The long era of suffering and lack of exits from medical device investments is finally over. For three straight years, public investors and strategic acquirers have shown a insatiable appetite for medical device companies with products and revenue. A panel of experts speaking at Windhover's recent audio conference Find the Right Exit: What Public Markets and Strategic Acquirers Will Offer in 2007 say the good times show no signs of ending, although risks do exist.
A decade ago, medical device investors enjoyed an extraordinary
period for exits—63 IPOs over a span of two years—and
they have been paying for it ever since.
The much-maligned, deeply troubled Class of 1996, a group of venture-backed device start-ups that went public in the mid 1990s...