Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (the "Company" or "Fresenius Medical Care") (FWB: FME) (NYSE: FMS), the world's largest provider of dialysis products and services, today announced the signing of a purchase agreement to acquire International Dialysis Centers ("IDC"), Euromedic International's ("Euromedic") dialysis service business. Euromedic has decided to prioritize its investments in the diagnostics and cancer treatment fields. Fresenius Medical Care is taking advantage of this opportunity to expand its activities in the dialysis care market, especially in Eastern Europe, where IDC is the market leader.
The transaction remains subject to necessary regulatory approvals by the relevant anti-trust authorities and is expected to close in the first half of 2011.
On completion, the acquired operations will add approximately $180 million in annual revenue and are expected to be accretive to earnings in the first year after closing of the transaction. The purchase price will be €485 million. The transaction will be financed initially from cash flow from operations and available borrowing capacity. After closing, Fresenius Medical Care expects to refinance the acquisition on a long-term basis.
IDC currently treats over 8,200 hemodialysis patients predominantly in Central and Eastern Europe and operates a total of 70 clinics in nine countries. Fresenius Medical Care, the world leader in renal therapy, currently serves more than 210,000 patients globally and more than 17,000 patients in Eastern Europe.
Ben Lipps, chief executive officer of Fresenius Medical Care, said, "Eastern Europe is a key component of our overall growth strategy, and we are convinced that Euromedic's clinic network will be an excellent fit with those of Fresenius Medical Care. Bringing together the experienced teams of both companies and our focus on high-quality patient care will give us a unique opportunity to meet the growing needs of the public sector in these fast-growing markets."
Richard di Benedetto, chief executive officer of Euromedic, said, "We are very proud of what we have built up in the dialysis services space. We strongly believe that Fresenius Medical Care will be an excellent home for IDC and will enable IDC to build on its current strength across Eastern Europe and to continue its longstanding track record of success."
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