Hologic to Acquire Cynosure

Hologic, a global healthcare and diagnostics company focused on woman’s health, announced Feb. 14, 2017, that it signed a definitive agreement to acquire all outstanding Cynosure shares, an equity value estimated at $1.65 billion.

The announcement comes the day after Allergan announced that it would acquire Zeltiq. 

The Cynosure product portfolio includes popular brands SculpSure, the first FDA-cleared laser treatment for non-invasive body contouring, PicoSure and MonaLisa Touch.

"Acquiring Cynosure will accelerate our transformation into a higher-growth company by leveraging our core women's health expertise and OB/GYN channel leadership into an adjacent, cash-pay segment that is expanding at a low double-digit rate," Steve MacMillan, Hologic's chairman, president and chief executive officer, says in a press release announcing the deal. "We had identified medical aesthetics as an attractive and complementary growth opportunity through our strategic planning process, and are pleased to have agreed to acquire Cynosure, the best-in-class company in the space. Together, we can strengthen our shared focus on innovation, market-leading products with demonstrated clinical benefits and strong customer relationships. "

The acquisition gives Hologic a foothold in the medical aesthetics segment, which exceeds $2 billion globally. It’s among the fastest-growing areas in the medical technology arena-a growth fueled by physicians' putting more focus on cash-based procedures, and by the aging population’s increasing interest in how they look and feel, according to the release.

Whether the acquisition will impact dermatologists and other providers who have Cynosure devices remains to be seen. One industry expert says it’s doubtful that the acquisition will result in a huge corporate branding effort.

“From a dermatology patient perspective, there's a neutral effect of this transaction. I don't foresee Hologic putting a lot of marketing dollars into branding the Cynosure devices,” says RealSelf CEO Tom Seery.

Rather, Seery says he thinks awareness for treatments, like SculpSure, will continue to grow organically through online postings, reviews and rankings and physicians’ promotions.