Curlin Medical LLC, a low-profile Huntington Beach maker of medical infusion pumps, has been bought for $75 million by Moog Inc. of East Aurora, N.Y.
Moog appears to be paying a premium for Curlin. The price is more than four times Curlin’s yearly sales and 14 times its profits. Moog is paying $63 million in cash and another $12 million in debt.
Most of Curlin’s rivals are big, diversified companies, including Baxter International Inc. and Abbott Laboratories.
One local infusion pump maker, Lake Forest-based I-Flow Corp., has a market value that’s about double its $100 million in yearly sales. I-Flow isn’t profitable.
Curlin, which is privately held, posted an operating profit of $5.4 million on sales of $16 million last year.
The sale is expected to close during the quarter, pending regulatory clearance and closing conditions.
Moog, which has around $1.1 billion in annual sales, is known for components and systems for military and commercial aircraft, satellites, missiles, space vehicles and industrial automation.
The company said it bought Curlin to boost its medical business. Moog plans to run Curlin as a division within its industrial group, according to Martin Berardi, a Moog vice president.
Moog has supplied products to medical equipment makers in recent years, including slip rings used in diagnostic scanners and motors used in sleep apnea equipment.
Curlin’s pumps provide a controlled flow of medicine to patients in hospitals or outpatient settings. The pumps have become more complex. Chips and software do most of the work.
B. Braun Tie
B. Braun Medical Inc., a Bethlehem, Pa.-based unit of Germany’s B. Braun Melsungen AG with 1,600 workers in Irvine, distributes Curlin’s pumps.
Moog said it expects to continue the pact with B. Braun.
Curlin and B. Braun in January renewed their three-year distribution deal.
Officials from Curlin didn’t return calls for this story. About 70 people work for the company, according to Moog’s Berardi.
Curlin’s Web site said it was started in 1971 and took on its current name in 1997.
Moog probably sought out Curlin to offset slowing growth in aerospace, said J.B. Groh, an analyst with D.A. Davidson & Co., an investment bank based in Great Falls, Mont.
In a report discussing Moog’s recent quarterly results, Groh said medical sales rose 58% from a year earlier to $12 million.
The Curlin deal “meets their (acquisition requirements),” he said. “They look for products that are technologically advanced.”
