Sonova to buy Advanced Bionics for $489M

By The Associated Press

Comments (0) |

E-Mail

Text Size:

tool goes here

Swiss hearing aid firm Sonova Holding AG said Monday it is buying cochlear implant maker Advanced Bionics Corp., based in California, for $489 million in cash.

Sonova expects the transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval, to be completed within three months.

"Sonova will offer the most comprehensive and innovative product and service portfolio covering any customer need for most types of hearing problems," Valentin Chapero, Sonova's chief executive, said in a statement.

Privately-held Advanced Bionics was founded in 1993 and is based in Valencia, Los Angeles County. Its majority shareholder is the biotech investor Alfred Mann.

The company, which has 660 employees and sales in over 30 countries, has an 18 percent share of the global market in cochlear implants. These electronic devices are surgically implanted inside the ear to stimulate the auditory nerves, allowing deaf people to hear sounds.

Sonova spokesman Holger Schimanke said there was little overlap between Sonova and Advanced Bionics, and consequently there are no plans to restructure the business.

"Advanced Bionics will continue to operate as an independent unit within the Sonova Group," Schimanke told The Associated Press. "We aren't talking about any kind of job cuts, definitely not."

He said Advanced Bionics had developed "a great American technology that many people consider to be world leading, but it hasn't really taken off."

"We're going to give them the business and sales expertise to do so," said Schimanke.

Sonova shares rose 2.3 percent to 111.50 Swiss francs ($110.45) on the Zurich exchange.

About comments

Reader comments on SanLuisObispo.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Tribune. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.

What you should know about comments on SanLuisObispo.com

SanLuisObispo.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. See our full terms of service here.

Here are some rules of the road:

Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "report abuse" button. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.
Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.
Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.
Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand. If you want to discuss an issue with a specific user, click on his profile name and leave him a public message.
Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.
Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.
Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.
Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.

You should also know that The Tribune does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "report abuse" button to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at webmaster@sanluisobispo.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.

If you submit a comment, the username of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them, but you may ask our staff to retract one of your comments by sending an email to webmaster@sanluisobispo.com. Again, make sure you note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us your profile name.