Christie Digital Systems Inc. of Cypress said Wednesday it bought the assets of Luminetx Corp., a Memphis-based medical device maker, for an estimated $15 million.
With the deal, Christie, a maker of projectors used to show movies in theaters, is creating a new business called Christie Medical Holdings Inc. to enter the medical imaging industry.
Luminetx makes the VeinViewer, a vessel imaging system that allows healthcare providers to clearly see accessible veins for clinical treatments and procedures such as intravenous insertions.
Christie Digital is part of Ushio Inc., a Japanese maker of halogen lights that has its U.S. base in Cypress. Ushio makes lamps that go inside Christie’s projectors.
Before Christie’s deal was announced, a group of Luminetx shareholders and investors made a last-ditch bid for the company, according to an article in the Memphis Business Journal.
A group led by the John H. Dayani Fund of Nashville, Tenn., attempted to make a counter offer to fund Luminetx when its cash started to dry up, but Luminetx management decided to take a bridge loan from Christie and sell the company, according to the article.
The Dayani fund had invested $3.5 million in Luminetx in 2007, for which it received 1.1 million shares of the company’s stock.
