Olympus to acquire St. Louis company

As part of a new strategy unveiled 13 months ago, Olympus said it wanted to “focus and scale” its therapeutics division, looking to accelerate its growth in areas such as respiratory devices.

The Japanese company on Friday took a step in that direction, announcing its plan to acquire Veran Medical Technologies Inc. of St. Louis for $340 million.

Olympus said the acquisition will be implemented through Olympus Corp. of the Americas, a subsidiary based in Upper Saucon Township. As part of its reorganization in 2019, Olympus made the Americas subsidiary the headquarters for its therapeutics division, signaling the growth potential in North America for respiratory, urological and gastroenterological endotherapy devices.

Veran Medical, a privately held firm founded in 2005, is a medical device provider specializing in interventional pulmonology, which deals with minimally invasive procedures to diagnose and treat conditions in the lungs and chest.

“We are very excited about acquiring VMT because its portfolio of devices will complement our product portfolio and further strengthen our position in respiratory medical devices,” said Nacho Abia, global chief operating officer and CEO of Olympus Corp. of the Americas. “The most significant part of this deal is that we will secure immediate access to VMT’s unique Electromagnetic Navigation system with proprietary devices to build a stronger future respiratory product portfolio.”

The acquisition fits into Olympus’ strategy as it attempts to strengthen its position as a medical device company. That strategy cameabout morethan a year after U.S. hedge fund ValueAct Capital began building a stake in Olympus.

Locally, the strategy change led to the elimination of an unspecified number of information technology positions about a year ago at the Upper Saucon facility.

Olympus employs about 1,000 people across two Lehigh Valley facilities: its 337,400-square-foot headquarters in Upper Saucon and a distribution center in Breinigsville. Theheadquarters, which relocated to the Lehigh Valley fromLongIslandin2006, handles sales, marketing, management and support services for North and South America.