Zacks_Analysts' Blog : TPG Cap Finally Acqu Immucor - Analyst Blog

Recently, IVD Acquisition Corporation, an affiliate of TPG Capital, successfully completed the acquisition of Immucor, Inc. (BLUD) for $27 per share or $1.9 billion in total.

The deal was announced initially in July.

Established in 1992 with $48 billion of assets under management, TPG Capital is a leading global private investment firm with offices spread across the globe.

Immucor, manufacturer and seller of automated systems and reagents, suffered several setbacks over the past few quarters on the back of a slowdown in the blood industry. Several small donor centers have closed their operations due to lackluster demand arising from the economic uncertainty. Tighter hospital budgets and uncertainty in the healthcare market also led to a decline in orders and delayed the decision making process. Moreover, a higher number of uninsured and underinsured patients negatively influenced the demand in this industry.

Revenues from traditional reagents (61% of sales) were negatively impacted in the recent past. Immucor lost some traditional reagent customers due to its inability to provide the required services and attention as it emphasized on instruments.

The company was also hampered by several quality control issues. Moreover, in June this year, Immucor’s President and CEO Dr. Gioacchino De Chirico resigned and was replaced by Joshua H. Levine (former President and CEO of Mentor Corporation). In addition, Immucor operates in a highly competitive market, which boasts major players like Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Bio-Rad Laboratories (BIO).

However, Immucor is expected to be an attractive investment as the US blood market is likely to improve in the upcoming years on the back of ageing population as these surgeries are typically associated with old age. TPG Capital, with improved strategic interference, is expected to turnaround its business and drive growth going forward.