Hill-Rom To Acquire Mortara Instrument, Inc., for $330 Million

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc. announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Mortara Instrument, Inc. ("Mortara"), a privately held leader in diagnostic cardiology and patient monitoring solutions, technologies and devices, for $330 million in cash. Hill-Rom anticipates the structure of the acquisition will allow the company to qualify for a significant tax benefit, which at a net present value of approximately $40 million reduces the effective purchase price to approximately $290 million.

"Our growing Welch Allyn franchise will be immediately strengthened by the addition of Mortara Instrument's experienced team, breadth of diagnostic cardiology and patient monitoring offerings and best-in-class ability to integrate with electronic medical record (EMR) systems," said Hill-Rom President and CEO John J. Greisch. "With Mortara, we will expand our diagnostic cardiology franchise in the acute care, clinical research and primary care settings, where we will use our global commercial presence to accelerate growth of the Mortara business. This transaction is aligned with our strategy to expand in our clinical focus areas, in this case patient diagnostics and monitoring, through the addition of complementary innovative solutions and enhanced customer offerings to deliver value for shareholders."

Mortara's innovative portfolio of diagnostic cardiology devices is designed to serve the full continuum of clinical care, from acute care to primary care and clinical research organizations. Mortara's comprehensive range of products, operating under three trusted brands - Mortara, Quinton® and Burdick® - including resting electrocardiography (ECG), cardiac stress exercise, Holter monitoring, ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, and cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation and multi-parameter patient monitoring - are differentiated by industry-leading diagnostic algorithms, EMR connectivity and enhanced security features. Based in Milwaukee with offices in Australia, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, Mortara has more than 400 employees globally and generated approximately $115 million in revenue in 2016.

Mortara Instrument CEO Dr. Justin Mortara intends to join Hill-Rom and continue in his leadership capacity at Mortara Instrument. He will report to Hill-Rom Front Line Care President Alton Shader, ensuring Mortara Instrument's strong leadership and innovation culture continue and thrive as part of Hill-Rom.

"By combining with Hill-Rom, Mortara Instrument will have greater opportunities to grow as part of a global leader with strong brand equity and unparalleled care setting expertise," said Dr. Mortara. "Hill-Rom and Mortara Instrument share similar patient-centric cultures, and I am confident that this combination will benefit our valued employees and customers. I look forward to working with the entire Hill-Rom team as we enter our next phase of success."

Mr. Greisch continued, "We look forward to welcoming the talented employees of Mortara to the Hill-Rom team. With our shared mission, global reach and complementary products, we anticipate a successful integration and rapid commercialization of new products. Together, we will offer our customers around the globe a broader range of diagnostic technologies to further our mission of improving outcomes for patients and their caregivers."