Fresenius Medical Care inks agreement to acquire Gambro's worldwide peritoneal dialysis business

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (FWB: FME) (NYSE: FMS), the world's largest provider of dialysis products and services, today announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire Gambro's worldwide peritoneal dialysis (PD) business. Gambro has decided to prioritize its investments in the hemodialysis field. Fresenius Medical Care is taking advantage of this opportunity to expand its activities in the homecare market, especially in Europe and Asia-Pacific.

The transaction is still subject to necessary regulatory approvals by the relevant antitrust authorities as well as works council consultations in some jurisdictions. Once the acquisition is approved and closed, the acquired operations will add approximately $60 million in annual revenue and are expected to be accretive to earnings in the first year after closing of the transaction.

As the third-largest provider of PD products and services, Gambro currently serves over 4,000 PD patients in more than 25 countries, with a specific focus on Asia-Pacific and Europe. Fresenius Medical Care, the leader in hemodialysis and the world's No. 2 in PD, currently serves more than 190,000 hemodialysis patients and more than 37,000 PD patients around the globe. Approximately 11% of the world's dialysis patients are treated by means of PD today; in 2009 their number grew by more than 6% to around 203,000.

"Promoting our growth in home therapies, of which PD is a key element, has been a defined path in our overall growth strategy, and we are convinced that Gambro's PD operations will be an excellent fit with Fresenius Medical Care. Bringing together the experienced PD teams of both companies and our mutual focus on biocompatible PD solutions for high-quality patient care will give us a unique opportunity to complete our PD-product offering. The acquisition will also significantly strengthen our sales and distribution network and expand our global presence in the homecare market," said Ben Lipps, chief executive officer of Fresenius Medical Care.