GE Healthcare is in talks to buy Israeli medical equipment company VersaMed for $40 million. The company, which was founded in 1995, develops software-intensive ventilators.
The story of VersaMed is as long and convoluted as a windpipe, and woven into the history of the local and global medical technology markets. Although the company is private, there are listed companies with large stakes in it. The company received US Food and Drugs Administration approval at a fairly early stage, but started selling products only in 1999. In 2000, at the height of the technology boom, it planned to make an IPO on Nasdaq at a valuation of $250 million, but drew back.
VersaMed has raised some $17 million over the years from several investors, among them Aura Investments Ltd., TechnoPlus Ventures, FIBI Investment House Ltd., Forum Technologies Ltd., Technorov Holdings, Tripod Investments, and Wheatley Partners.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on October 31, 2007
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