Sunrise announced that they have divested their US and South America Guardian business. (by the way the Guardian brand was never strong in their European business).
Sunrise CEO Michael N. Cannizzaro said:
For Sunrise Medical this is an important step in our strategy of being the industry’s leading Mobility and Seating Company. We will work closely with Medline to insure a smooth and seamless transition for all of our valued customers
Medline DME Division President said:
The acquisition of the Guardian line marks a significant step forward in the growth and value-added development of our Durable Medical Equipment division,” said Dave Jacobs, president, Medline Durable Medical Equipment division. “Guardian has a long-standing reputation for excellence and innovation in the healthcare industry and we are very pleased to have the opportunity to build on that tradition. In addition to bolstering our competitive position in the marketplace, the acquisition of this highly respected brand expands the range of products, services and value we can offer our customers
My take on this is that this move represents the next stage in industry (re) focus. Sunrise, a former pure play manufacturer, has chosen to exit a lower value added business that is increasingly dominated by people that have been smart in terms of how they source product from Asia. Medline has considerable expertise in this area.
Of interest perhaps is that this was conducted under Michael N. Cannizzaro’s watch. He was hired in 2007 by Vestarcapital partners – private equity shareholder of Sunrise. At about the same time Sunrise had been split into two parts – namely their respiratory business and wheelchair and other businesses.
Vestarcapital had taken Sunrise private in 2000 and speculation is that they may be looking for an exit.
Last week I wrote about Handicare, a relatively highly differentiated European based rehab company that is rapidly reaching the revenues of Sunrise, that acquired Linido, a relatively low value patient aid business last week.
Interesting…
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Sunrise missed the train for real growth back in 2004/5 and have been tracking backwards ever since. Then, there were a few key players in Sunrise’s core market’s now there are many and the Sunrise market share is too big a plum to miss.
Removing the hold they had over their dealer networks by splitting the business into 2 new separate divisions is allowing the embattled mobility dealer network to buy elsewhere.
I suggest that divestment’s are set to continue….