Asahi Kasei Corp., a maker of synthetic fibers and industrial chemicals, has agreed to buy U.S. company Zoll Medical Corp. for $2.2 billion (¥181 billion) to expand its presence in the critical care products field and also to boost sales in Asia.
Asahi Kasei will pay $93 a share for Zoll Medical, which is based in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, and makes devices to help revive patients, the companies said in a statement Monday. That is 24 percent higher than Zoll's closing price of $75.10 on Friday.
The acquisition will speed the Tokyo-based company's expansion of its health care business that it aims to triple to ¥500 billion by 2020. Asahi Kasei said it will sell Zoll's resuscitation devices and other products in Asia, as well as allowing access to the U.S. market as it seeks a share of the global critical care market estimated at $48 billion and growing at about 7 percent annually.