Medical technologies provider C. R. Bard has signed an agreement to acquire Liberator Medical Holdings, for around $181m.
As part of the deal, Bard will pay $3.35 per share to acquire Liberator Medical, which is a direct-to-consumer distributor of medical products classified as durable medical equipment (DME).
The company is involved in general medical supplies, including urological catheters, ostomy supplies, mastectomy fashions and diabetic supplies.
Liberator, which provides customers with products from multiple manufacturers, will expand Bard’s presence in the home care market in the US.
C. R. Bard chairman and CEO Timothy Ring said: "This acquisition is a key building block in our strategy to access faster growing markets.
"As the population ages and more healthcare is expected to occur outside of the hospital setting, we believe that having direct access to the patient in the home is strategically important."
Subject to customary closing conditions, the deal is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2016.
According to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the national expenditures within the DME market will increase from $45.8bn in 2015 to $71.3bn in 2023.
In September 2013, Bard acquired silicone urinary incontinence and urine drainage products supplier Rochester Medical, for $262m.
Based in Murray Hill, New Jersey, Bard produces and markets medical technologies in the vascular, urology, oncology and surgical specialty fields.
Image: C. R. Bard to acquire medical products distributor Liberator Medical. Photo: courtesy of stockimages / FreeDigitalPhotos.net.