Executing a medical device rollup strategy, SGH buys 2 companies, doubling in size | Tech News

SGH Healthcaring has furthered its plan to grow into a major European medical device manufacturer. Funded by Mérieux Développement and Gimv, the French plastics business bought (PDF) Rovipharm and RR Plastiques to boost its capacity to make delivery systems for liquid medicines.

Mérieux and Gimv set SGH on its current path earlier this year when they bought the company, then known as Stiplastics Healthcaring, and embarked on a build-and-buy strategy intended to turn it into a medical device leader. Months later, SGH has executed the first stage of the strategy, buying two companies to add medication dosage pipettes and droppers for ear and eye therapies to its portfolio.

“When the ownership structure was changed, we clearly expressed our ambition to create a European leader in medical devices, amid increasingly-stringent regulatory constraints and greater demands from clients. These two acquisitions mark a first step in our ambitious growth” SGH CEO Jérôme Empereur said in a statement.

SGH is keeping the financial details of the deals to itself, but it is clear they mark a major event for the company. Acquiring the companies will double the size of SGH, driving annual sales up from around $24 million to $46 million and giving it 170 employees across 10,000-square-meters of production space. 

The extra sales will come from devices that deliver liquid medicines. In the longer term, SGH will look to other areas to fuel its growth. Drug delivery devices, including the pipettes and droppers produced by Rovipharm and RR Plastiques, are one avenue for growth. The other targeted growth drivers are devices related to compliance, respiratory health, preanalytical processes and eHealth.