Covidien Acquisitions Keeps Buying Spree Alive

Since its spin-out from Tyco, Covidien has spent close to $5 billion acquiring public and privately held device companies, with more than $1 billion of that being spent just over the past six months. The string of purchases bulked up every one of Covidien’s existing medical device businesses. In the recent acquisition of superDimension, Covidien paid $300 million plus earn-outs for the maker of the iLogic system, which uses electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy technology. The purchase means Covidien’s sales force will begin calling more on interventional pulmonologists, potentially creating an exit route for other pulmonary start-ups.