German pharma firm may buy Mesa company

PHOENIX A Mesa medical-device company that sells aesthetic skin-tightening devices might be acquired by a German pharmaceutical company in a deal that could be worth up to $600 million.

Merzs cash offer to purchase Ulthera would reach $600 million if the Mesa company reaches sales goals and Food and Drug Administration clearances for its technology, according to Ulthera CEO Matthew Likens. The deal is expected to close by Oct. 1.

Founded in 2004, Ulthera survived lean years during the Great Recession and turned its first profit in 2012. The companys revenue reached $82 million last year and is projected to grow to a range of $100 million to $115 million this year, Likens said.

Ulthera filed for an initial public offering earlier this year, but the company shied away from the stock market as the IPO market cooled in recent weeks. Instead, the companys board fielded offers from other suitors, settling on Merzs lucrative bid.

Merz was really pressing the point forward, Likens said. Its no fly-by-night firm. This is really quite an expansion of their technology portfolio.

Ulthera, whose corporate motto is Lift Lives, makes an ultrasound device used to lift skin on the neck and under the eyebrows and chin.

Ulthera has 170 employees worldwide, about half based in Arizona. Likens said he expects Merz will retain the Ultheras workers after the deal closes because the German company needs to tap Ultheras expertise in energy-based medicine.

In February, Ulthera purchased a company that makes the Cellfina tool system used to reduce cellulite. The company said in its initial public offering filing that it expected to use Cellfina on a limited basis and warned that the costs from investing in the new product may lead to a net loss this year.

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German pharma firm may buy Mesa company