The 65-year-old Rolf Schwind would prefer an investor to a buyer.
Frankfurt According to financial circles, the eye laser manufacturer Schwind Eye-Tech-Solutions is for sale. Interested parties are encouraged to place initial bids for the global number two after Johnson & Johnson later this month, said several people familiar with the matter. In the event of a sale, the company from Kleinostheim in Lower Franconia, founded in 1958 by entrepreneur Herbert Schwind, could be valued at around 400 million euros, it said.
The current head of the company, Rolf Schwind, whose family still has a stake of almost 30 percent, wants to remain involved in the company in the future. The investment company Ardian, which acquired the majority in 2016, is now putting its shares up for sale, while the investment bank Macquarie is organizing the sale process.
Since Schwind is banking on expanding its business in Asia, especially in China, it is expected that financial investors with an Asian branch will try to attract Schwind. Direct competitors such as Carl Zeiss, Alcon or Ziemer could also show interest, but 65-year-old Rolf Schwind would prefer an investor to a buyer.
Ardian and Macquarie declined to comment. Schwind was not available for comment.
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Schwind, initially specialized in so-called ophthalmological diagnostic systems, then switched to laser eye systems for the treatment of ametropia and corneal diseases, which were first used in eye operations in 1992. Laser eye surgery has been the company’s main business area since 1999. Over 2000 Schwind laser systems have now been installed in ophthalmic practices and eye clinics worldwide, with a global total of 4500. Every year, all suppliers together sell around 600 devices of the type that Schwind manufactures, around a quarter of which is made by Schwind itself.
Two thirds of the laser devices sold come from Schwind
Ophthalmologists have performed around eight million corneal surgical treatments with lasers from the Schwind Amaris product family, which makes up two thirds of all laser devices sold. The product portfolio is supplemented by research instruments and additional services. At the German Innovation Awards 2021 organized by the German Design Council, the Schwind Atos femtosecond laser was recognized for its technology, safety concepts and design.
Schwind employs 150 people and has been managed by Rolf Schwind since 1995. The profitable company expects an operating result (adjusted Ebitda) of around 20 million euros this year and could be valued at around twenty times that.
Companies from the health sector, especially medical technology manufacturers, are currently enjoying great popularity with investors who are hoping for continued demand for their products. Most sales from medical device manufacturers were at ratings greater than twenty times operating income.
The pharmaceutical and medical technology group Baxter agreed in September to take over the US manufacturer of hospital beds and operating tables, Hillrom, worth $ 10.5 billion, at a valuation of over 20 times Ebitda. The American Steris completed the takeover of the medical device manufacturer Cantel Medical in June, whereby the target company was rated almost 25 times Ebitda. In the most expensive acquisition in the company’s history, Siemens Healthineers paid Varian, a manufacturer of devices and software for the radiotherapy treatment of cancer, more than thirty times the operating profit last year.
The small industry of laser eye devices has changed again and again in recent years due to mergers and acquisitions. The US company Abbott took over the Silicon Valley-based manufacturer of ophthalmic devices, Optimedica. The Swiss Alcon Laboratories bought the Californian company LenSx Lasers, which was the first to develop a laser approved by the FDA for the treatment of cataracts. The holding company BV Holding held a stake in the Swiss eye laser device manufacturer Ziemer for a good ten years, but this spring it sold its stake back to the founding family.
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