Covidien to acquire Newport Medical Instruments

Covidien has agreed a deal to acquire Newport Medical Instruments, an international medical technology supplier, for $108 million (68.27 million pounds).

Under the terms of the deal, Covidien will acquire all outstanding capital stock in the California-based business, which designs and manufactures affordable ventilator systems for sale in more than 115 countries.

The deal is expected to close during the second quarter of 2012 and will see Newport Medical Instruments become part of Covidien's airway and ventilation division in its medical devices segment.

It is thought that Newport's range of products will be complementary to Covidien's existing respiratory solutions offering and will allow it to gain a better foothold in emerging markets.

Robert White, president for respiratory and monitoring systems at Covidien, said: "This acquisition is consistent with Covidien's strategy to expand into adjacencies and invest in product categories where it can develop a global competitive advantage."

This comes after the company also announced plans to purchase the pulmonology device manufacturer superDimension last week.