ICU Medical Inc., a San Clemente-based medical device maker, said Thursday that it is buying a critical care product line for $35 million from its primary customer, Hospira Inc.
ICU said it expects the all-cash deal to close during the current quarter.
ICU makes needleless connectors and other devices used to deliver intravenous fluids, along with cancer drug delivery products. Its devices are designed to protect healthcare workers from needle sticks and other injuries.
Sales to Lake Forest, Ill.-based Hospira, a maker of drugs and drug delivery devices that was once part of Abbott Laboratories, accounted for 71% of the device maker’s $54 million in first-quarter revenue.
ICU has made critical care products for Hospira since 2005, when it bought a Salt Lake City plant from Hospira and moved most of its San Clemente manufacturing to Utah.
In a release, George Lopez, ICU’s founder, chairman and president, said buying Hospira’s critical care products “creates a long-term growth opportunity” and will allow the company to control all aspects of the critical care line.
In recent years, ICU has moved toward a strategy of offering multiple devices and moving into other treatment areas. That’s a break from its historical reliance on one product,the Clave needle-free device for delivering intravenous fluids.
ICU’s shares were up 5% with a market value of $635 million at close of trading.
