Utrecht, The Netherlands and Cambridge, Massachusetts – Gilde Healthcare, the transatlantic growth capital firm specialized in the healthcare sector, today announces it has sold its stake in Sapiens Steering Brain Stimulation (Sapiens) to Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT). The trade sale of Sapiens marks Gilde Healthcare’s sixth successful exit in the past 12 months and the first exit within the Gilde Healthcare III fund. Medtronic will acquire Sapiens for approximately $200 million in an all-cash transaction.
Gilde Healthcare has supported Sapiens since 2013 and played an active role in the development of the company via its seat on the Supervisory Board and its subcommittees. Medtronic and Sapiens will work to finalize product development and continue clinical research to integrate these products and technologies within Medtronic’s Neuromodulation business. With this acquisition, Medtronic will establish a global research and development center for Medtronic’s Neuromodulation business at Sapiens’ facility based in Eindhoven (The Netherlands).
Gilde Healthcare has realized six successful exits in the last 12 months following the trade sale of Sapiens. Four of these healthcare businesses were based in The Netherlands. ProFibrix (Netherlands), Pharmaline (Netherlands), Santaris (Denmark) and Sapiens (Netherlands) were each divested in a trade sale to a strategic acquirer. uniQure (Netherlands) and Conatus Pharma (US) were successfully listed at NASDAQ.
The trade sale of Sapiens also marks the first exit within the Gilde Healthcare III fund (GHC III), Gilde Healthcare’s latest transatlantic growth capital fund with $200 million under management. The fund targets investments in innovative businesses in home and digital health, medical devices, diagnostics and therapeutics both in the United States and in Europe. GHC III is backed by a balanced mix of international corporate and institutional investors including (public) fund-of-funds, family offices, entrepreneurs and Gilde partners.
About Sapiens Steering Brain Stimulation
Sapiens (Eindhoven, The Netherlands) is developing a Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) system for patients suffering from brain disorders such as Parkinson’s disease. Sapiens’ innovative solution is an advanced DBS lead with 40 individual stimulation points. This advanced system is designed to allow three-dimensional field steering, which is the shaping of the stimulation field to allow more precise stimulation of the intended target in the brain. This would allow the stimulation field to be shaped according to individual patient needs and may potentially result in reduced procedure time and fewer stimulation-induced side effects. The system is also designed to feature sensing capabilities to record brain activity. Additionally, Sapiens is developing a suite of software products to simplify pre-operative, intra-operative, and post-operative aspects of DBS surgery. The company is a spin-out of Philips and was founded in 2011. (www.sapiensneuro.com)
About Gilde Healthcare
Gilde Healthcare (Utrecht, The Netherlands and Cambridge, Massachusetts) is a transatlantic growth capital investor focused on private healthcare companies. It has over €450 million ($600 million) under management and is actively looking to lead new investments in therapeutics, diagnostics, medical devices and healthcare services. For a list of Gilde’s portfolio companies please visit the website at www.gildehealthcare.com.
For more information:
Pieter van der Meer
Managing Director
Gilde Healthcare
Tel: +31.30.219.2533
www.gildehealthcare.com