U.S. company Dentsply International (XRAY.O) secured a bigger bite of the global dental market by buying AstraZeneca's (AZN.L) dental implants and medical devices unit for $1.8 billion. Dentsply, which beat off offers from rival medical technology groups and private equity firms, said on Wednesday the purchase of Astra Tech would increase its revenue by about 25 percent and boost its earnings immediately. Shares in the company rose 3 percent. Swedish-based Astra Tech, which had revenue last year of $535 million, is the world's third-largest dental implants maker after Straumann (STMN.S) and Nobel Biocare (NOBN.VX). It has a separate medical devices arm focused on urology and surgery. Acquiring Astra Tech will strengthen Dentsply's leading position in the global dental market, while for AstraZeneca the disposal reinforces its role as a "pure play" pharmaceuticals company at a time when many rivals are diversifying.
DENTSPLY International Inc. (DENTSPLY) is a designer, developer, manufacturer and marketer of a range of dental products. Shares of XRAY traded higher by 3.11% or $1.17/share to $38.78. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $27.76 and as high as $40.16. On average, 807561 shares of XRAY exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 773174.
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