Muer Yang, a professor of operations and supply chain management at the University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business, spoke with Twin Cities Business about KKR’s acquisition of medical device manufacturer Integer Holdings. Yang discussed how private equity ownership could accelerate acquisitions and consolidation in the medical device supply chain, potentially affecting competition and prices.
From the article:
In July, private equity giant KKR announced it was acquiring Integer for $5.7 billion – turning the company’s ownership structure private. The sale offers a glimpse into the increasingly valuable manufacturing infrastructure behind Minnesota’s medical-device industry. The company has a large Minnesota presence, so any disruptions or changes pushed by the new owners could have an outsized impact on their local facilities and employees. ...
Since then, Integer has made “horizontal consolidation” moves in the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) space, rather than big, sweeping moves, according to Muer Yang, a professor in the Department of Operations and Supply Chain Management at the University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business.
“They do this for economies of scale, [to] make things cheaper,” he says. “It’s more for adding complementary technologies to become broader and not just bigger.”
