Boston Scientific Agrees To Sell Fluid Management and Venous Access Businesses to Avista Capital Partners for $4...( NATICK Mass. and NEW YORK Dec. 13...),Health

NATICK, Mass. and NEW YORK, Dec. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) and Avista Capital Partners, a leading private equity firm, today jointly announced the signing of a definitive agreement under which Avista will acquire from Boston Scientific its Fluid Management and Venous Access businesses for $425 million in cash. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2008, subject to regulatory approvals and customary conditions. Boston Scientific previously announced its intent to sell these businesses as part of its plan to divest non-strategic assets.

Avista said that upon close of the transaction, the combined Fluid Management/Venous Access business will operate as an independent company under a new name. Ron Sparks, an Avista healthcare industry advisor, will become Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the new company. Dave McClellan, President of Boston Scientific's Oncology business, will become President of the new company.

The Fluid Management franchise, formerly North American Medical Instruments Corporation (NAMIC), produces a range of products used to manage fluid and measure pressure during angiography and angioplasty procedures. The Fluid Management franchise employs approximately 750 people in its Glens Falls, NY manufacturing facility.

The Venous Access franchise, whose products are also manufactured in Glens Falls, offers a leading portfolio of implantable devices designed to provide access to the blood stream for patients requiring intravenous antibiotics, nutrition, chemotherapy and blood sampling. The Venous Access franchise is part of Boston Scientific's Oncology business, and employs approximately 150 people in locations around the United States.
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