Medtronic Makes Offer for Medical Device Maker Intersect

(Bloomberg) -- Medtronic Plc has made an offer for smaller medical device maker Intersect ENT Inc., according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Intersect’s board of directors is reviewing the offer with its advisers, the people said, asking not to be identified as the proposal is private.

Representatives for Intersect and Medtronic declined to comment.

Discussions are early and Medtronic’s plans could still change. Intersect, based in Menlo Park, California, makes drug-delivery tools for ear, nose and throat clinicians treating chronic sinusitis.

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused many elective surgeries to be canceled in the U.S., hurting demand for medical devices and supplies. The downturn has weighed on shares of Intersect, whose products help treat chronic health conditions, and other device makers.

In April, the company announced cost cuts, including reducing its workforce by 25% and furloughing another 5% of employees.

Its shares rose 33% to $18.51 at 10:11 a.m. in New York Wednesday, giving it a market value of $602.7 million. They are down about 37% from Feb. 14 through Wednesday.

Medtronic generates most of its sales from devices such as defibrillators and pacemakers that are used to treat heart conditions.

Headquartered in Dublin, Medtronic struck a deal last month with Blackstone Group Inc.’s life sciences division for an investment of as much as $337 million in its diabetes programs.

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