Outpatient zero

18 December 2020 By Liam Proud Follow @liamwardproud

CEO Frans van Houten agreed to buy U.S. group BioTelemetry for $2.8 bln including debt. It’s wise to push further into “telehealth”, where doctors treat and monitor patients remotely rather than in hospital. But the valuation he’s paying will make it hard to earn a good return.

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Dutch health-technology company Philips on Dec. 18 said it had agreed to buy U.S. cardiac diagnostics and monitoring firm BioTelemetry for an enterprise value of $2.8 billion. The equity portion of the cash offer of $72 per share represents a 17% premium to its Dec. 17 closing price.

BioTelemetry, which has around 1,900 employees, sells cardiac-monitoring devices that allow doctors to keep tabs on patients’ heart disorders while they are at home. Its shares had risen 33% this year before Philips announced the deal.

Shares in the Dutch group were up 2% to 44.92 euros at 0838 GMT on Dec. 18.

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