Financings In Brief

AGA Medical goes public: Maker of Amplatzer structural heart defect repair devices and vascular disease treatments initiates $200 million initial public offering Oct. 21, making it the first U.S. medical technology IPO since the first quarter of 2008 (1"The Gray Sheet" Oct. 19, 2009). The Minneapolis company filed plans for the IPO in June 2008, prior to the onset of the global financial crisis (2"The Gray Sheet" June 30, 2008). The IPO of 13.8 million common stock shares at $14.50 each included 6.5 million shares offered by the company and 7.2 million shares offered by selling shareholders, and resulted in net proceeds to AGA of about $83 million - tabbed primarily for debt repayment. AGA development projects include the ongoing U.S. RESPECT study of the Amplatzer patent foramen ovale structural heart defect occluder to reduce the occurrence of certain types of stroke, results of which will be used to support an eventual PMA filing; the firm estimates a $1 billion-plus market opportunity for the indication in the U.S. and Europe. Corporate sales increased 16.7% to $94.4 million for the six months ended June 30, according to a prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The stock trades under the Nasdaq symbol AGAM