BOTHELL, Wash. — SonoSite, Inc. (NASDAQ:SONO), the world leader and specialist in
hand-carried ultrasound for the point-of-care, today announced that its
Board of Directors has authorized SonoSite to repurchase up to $150
million of the Company’s common stock or outstanding convertible notes
for cash. In connection with the repurchase authorization, the company
will purchase up to $100 million of the Company’s common stock through a
modified “Dutch Auction” tender offer. SonoSite intends to commence the
tender offer during the week of January 18, 2010.
Under the terms of the proposed tender offer, SonoSite shareholders will
have the opportunity to tender some or all of their shares at a price
within the range of $26.10 to $30.00 per share. Based on the number of
shares tendered and the prices specified by the tendering shareholders,
SonoSite will determine the lowest per-share price within the range that
will enable it to buy $100 million in shares, or such lesser number of
shares that are properly tendered. All shares accepted for payment will
be paid the same price, regardless of whether a shareholder tendered
such shares at a lower price within the range. At the minimum price of
$26.10 per share, SonoSite would repurchase a maximum of 3,831,417
shares, which represents approximately 22% of SonoSite’s currently
outstanding common stock. SonoSite will fund the repurchase from
available cash on hand. The low and high ends of the price range
represent approximately a 0% and 15% premium, respectively, to the most
recent share closing price of $26.10 per share. Based on the January 8,
2010, closing price, the share price has increased 10% year-to-date.
The tender offer will be subject to various terms and conditions as will
be described in offer materials that will be publicly filed and
distributed to shareholders at the time of commencement of the tender
offer during the week of January 18, 2010. Additional copies of the
offer materials will also be available from the Information Agent,
Georgeson Inc. The Dealer-Manager for the tender offer will be J.P.
Morgan Securities Inc.
Kevin M. Goodwin, the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer,
said, “After evaluating various opportunities for two years, we
concluded that the best investment of our cash was in our own stock.
Moreover, we believe that the tender offer will benefit stockholders by
providing an efficient mechanism for those who desire liquidity at a
premium over current trading prices and, for our remaining stockholders,
an enhanced ability to participate in the long-term earnings potential
of our business.”
Neither SonoSite’s management, nor any of its board of directors,
executive officers, the dealer manager, the information agent or the
depositary is making any recommendation to shareholders as to whether to
tender or refrain from tendering their shares in the proposed tender
offer. The company’s executive officers, senior management and directors
have advised the company that they do not intend to tender any of their
shares in the tender offer. Shareholders must decide how many shares
they will tender, if any, and the price within the stated range at which
they will tender their shares. Shareholders should consult their
financial and tax advisors in making this decision.
Toshiba Products Improve Diagnostic Confidence and Accuracy in
Cardiovascular and Orthopedic Imaging
TUSTIN, Calif. — St. Luke’s Lakeside Hospital of The Woodlands, Texas has chosen Toshiba
America Medical Systems, Inc. to provide magnetic resonance (MR),
ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), X-ray and vascular equipment for
its newly built surgical hospital.
St. Luke’s Lakeside is a collaboration between St. Lukes Episcopal
Health System and area cardiovascular and orthopedic/spine specialists.
With a focus on providing comprehensive cardiac and orthopedic care,
physicians requested the latest in medical imaging technology for the
six surgical suites and three cardiac catheterization labs.
To meet its unique imaging needs, St. Luke’s Lakeside has installed
Toshiba’s Vantage Titan™ MR system, Aplio Artida™ ultrasound system,
Aquilion® CX CT system, two Infinix™-i cath labs and a
Kalare™ RF system.
“Our goal with this facility was to build a place that is at the
forefront of medical innovation. To do this we needed imaging equipment
that could image patients regardless of their size or special needs and
still produce high quality images that would improve diagnostic
confidence and accuracy,” said Diane McNamee, CNO and assistant vice
president, St. Luke’s Lakeside Hospital. “We chose Toshiba equipment for
its ability to produce high quality images, as well as handle the more
challenging cases we see.”
(TSX: CAE)(NYSE: CAE) – CAE Healthcare has acquired ICCU Imaging and VIMEDIX in order to expand its growing portfolio with a specialty in ultrasound imaging training.
ICCU Imaging specializes in developing cutting-edge multimedia educative material and offering practical and easy-to-use educational solutions to help medical providers perform a focused bedside ultrasound examination. VIMEDIX specializes in developing advanced echographic simulation training and has begun marketing a virtual reality animated transthoracic echocardiography simulator.
“These bolt-on acquisitions are an important step in the growth of CAE Healthcare. By combining the expertise of ICCU Imaging and VIMEDIX with CAEs training, simulation and modelling know-how, CAE Healthcare will be able to offer a complete solution for ultrasound imaging training, including e-learning, bedside ultrasound seminars and medical simulators,” said CAE Healthcare President Guillaume Herve. “ICCU Imaging and VIMEDIX are first-class operations. It is a pleasure to welcome their leaders, recognized as worldwide experts in their fields, Dr. Yanick Beaulieu, President and founder of ICCU Imaging and Dr. Robert Amyot, CEO and President of VIMEDIX, to the CAE Healthcare team.”
The underlying imaging market, which drives the need for realistic training, is experiencing rapid growth, particularly because of the proliferation of handheld and portable devices. Those units enable a larger population of healthcare practitioners to perform diagnostic procedures and evaluations, which historically could only be done by medical imaging specialists.
“Bringing ultrasound imaging technology at the bedside is as big a revolution as the advent of the stethoscope 200 years ago,” said Dr. Yanick Beaulieu, M.D., director of the bedside ultrasound curriculum at Hopital du Sacre-Coeur de Montreal and founder of ICCU. “Todays ultrasound imaging machines are small and portable and they reduce associated risk of many invasive procedures. One of the greatest challenges faced by critical care physicians in widely adopting ultrasound is the requirement for widespread ultrasound education in order to reach proficiency and ensure safety.”
ultrasound tech schools