Sonosite, Inc., a Bothell, Wash.-based company specializing in bedside and point-of-care ultrasound technologies, has signed an agreement to acquire privately held Visualsonics, a Toronto-based company focused on ultra high-frequency micro-ultrasound technology. The aggregate transaction value will be approximately $71 million net of cash and debt.
The acquisition is conditioned upon approval by Visualsonics’ shareholders and the satisfaction of other customary conditions. Sonosite expects the acquisition to close in the next 30 days.
Visualsonics’ micro-ultrasound technology uses five times the center frequency range currently used in conventional ultrasound systems, enabling the visualization of superficial anatomy on small living animals with microscopic detail. Sonosite plans to incorporate this technology into its own miniaturization competency and user design in order to implement it in a clinical environment.
