Thursday, January 13, 2011

Globus Acquires Facet Solutions Assets

On January 12, 2011 Globus Medical the LARGEST privately held spinal implant company announced that it had acquired all of the assets of Facet Solutions based in Hopkinton, Massachusetts.  Facet Solutions was another in the long line of "one trick pony" companies in the spine industry.  Globus now inherits via its acquisition another pedicle screw based facet replacement system.  In addition to the ACADIA System, Globus also acquired the intellectual property that once belonged to Archus.  Who knows, this may be the year that THE BIG G attempts to go public?  Based on their portfolio and the current state of healthcare do our bloggers believe that they will succeed or will they continue to be the LARGEST privately held company in the universe?

65 comments:

  1. they have to go public, their private shareholders are banking on it...it's a no brainer. we're gonna be rich!!

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  2. 10:03 like rick james!!!!

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  3. They are broadening their portfolio by adding potential motion preservation technology...Facetsolutions are the only remaining player in facet arthroplasty technology after Archus fell last year. FS acquired Archus' assets and now Globus is acquiring FS. I smell something big happening at big G :)

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  4. I smell another consultant agreement opportunity...

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  5. So what did they pay for this non-commercialized, yet unproven, technology? I hope they got it for a song. Otherwise it's good money after bad.

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  6. any female reps over there for their Born-Again leader to sermonize to?

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  7. Haven't we learned that good fusion is better than bad motion...? this market is crazy!

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  8. What about Impliant TOPS technology - heard they're looking for a home too. Now that Facet Soln's is with a company that will try to do something with it, does it mean Impliant's stuff will get more looks and love now?

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  9. What about US Spine's facet gun? Will they go after that technology to further lock up the facet technology. I haven't seen the push in the facet gun.

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  10. The only value buying this long-term dud needed to have is in making their company look prettier in the IPO. Lipstick on a pig...

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  11. Didn't Amedica already buy US Spine and all of it's assets (including its god-awful facet gun) a few months ago?

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  12. I don't see how Globus can continue to give away 50-400k shares of stock to each new rep they hire and 400k+ shares to all of the company's "consulting" surgeons, and still expect the stock to be worth anything after an IPO. Maybe I'm just missing something here. Can somebody please explain this to me?

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  13. Can you say Alphatec?

    Even if Globus does go public w/ an IPO, they will quickly find themselves come crashing back to Earth w/ a resounding THUD.

    Especially once all of the surgeon investors ring the cash register upon their exodus.

    Globus missed their chance several years ago to go public and have been searching for someone, anyone, to come knocking to underwrite their IPO. But guess what, the word is out and everyone is aware of their financial model and well aware of the % of revenues being generated by surgeons holding a stake in the company.

    And now, no one is interested in picking this pig only to see it slaughtered.

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  14. To 1:32:

    Its all relative. What are the fully diluted shares outstanding (therefore what is the percent ownership)? What are the vesting terms of the options? What is the option strike price? What are the "change of control" provisions in the stock option plan? Where do the options sit in the capitalization table or capital structure of the business (e.g. are they after preferred stock? after common? equivalent with common?, etc.)

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  15. Explain your reference to Alphatec. Is that referencing their IPO or a similar business model to Globus. I am assuming the former.

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  16. I'll be curious to see the lockout provisions, if and when it happens. Do the "consulting" surgeons have the same type of shares? Will the execs and surgeons be able to cash out first and leave the employees and reps holding worthless stock?

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  17. 2:12

    Yes, it is referencing Alphatec's IPO & current stock price of $2.63 as of today's close, as well as the fact that Globus' model is Alphatec all over again,,

    Buy the business, go public, then when everyone walks, crash back to Earth like the Hindenburg.

    I don't know of one surgeon that uses Globus products because they "like them" or "think they're better than the rest" vs. the fact that they're using them because they are "on a development team", "are a proctor", or "are invested in the company".

    Not one.

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  18. Anybody think that maybe Globus did this to "create some excitement" amongst its ranks during this weekend's NSM in Marco Island, FL?

    Nothing says "Go get em' Johnnie" more than having another screw based/ facet system in your bag,, I bet the Globus troops will be all fired up at tonight's opening cocktail party reception!!

    Woooooooohooooooo!!!!

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  19. A search on Facet Replacement on Google yields this: http://www.dr-bertagnoli.com/facet-replacement.html.

    Has anybody ever heard of Zyre?

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  20. Amedica/US Spine? You're serious? LMAO. Hahahahahahaha

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  21. Zyre, look at Spinal Elements.
    DESCRIPTION: Malleable spacer between facets
    REGULATORY STATUS: Clinical trial is currently being conducted outside the United
    States

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  22. 3:04pm, have you been smoking rocks? Amedica bought US Spine about 3 or 4 months ago. Need proof? Take a look at www.amedicacorp.com. You can't miss it.

    And no, I do not work for Amedica. Silicon Nitride can suck my balls. I am simply pointing out that this crack-head's theory about US Spine's facet gun being the next big acquisition is not a possibility.

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  23. Im Rich Bitch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  24. 6:19

    Any chance you're a Godsmack fan? Man, I hope so,, because you'll be "Cryin' Like a Bitch".

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  25. Question:

    If Globus is such a strong company w/ great products, leadership and tremendous revenues,, then why have they still NOT gone public? Seriously, why are there not bankers lining up at the doors to bring this stock to the market & make tens of millions of dollars on the IPO?

    How long has it been now,, 6, maybe 7 years? Still nothing?

    For those who know, please, do tell as I'm dying to know why so many people continue to believe in this company?

    For those hanging on to a wing & a prayer after all this time,, perhaps you're just not ready to admit that this simply isn't going to play out the way that you'd hoped.

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  26. They buy a facet replacement but in the same year terminate their best distributor that accounted for over 12% of their GLOBAL revenue.... As long as the same people are making these types of decisions, we will all have some to distract us and laugh at while POD's erode our industry. They have had some surgeon investors already surgeon invest in a POD in their own back yard

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  27. Nothing wrong with a privately held, profitable company. When the time is right, they'll get their IPO, and there won't be a "thud" on the stock simply due to liquidity as all shareholders will have holding provisions for the first six months at a minimum. I don't work for Globus, but they're clearly not Alphatec. As a Synthes dude, they've done some very nice improvements on several products, starting with the cervical and lumbar zero-profile line. Their lateral retractor might be the best in the industry. Love them or hate them, they are here to stay.

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  28. Why was their best distributor terminated??

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  29. Those who fail to learn the lessons of the past will repeat the same in the future. Alphatec, soon Globus? ...and does anyone remember the avalanche of stock options and promises of riches granted to surgeons/agents alike from...Altiva?

    Acquired by Exatech for pennies on the dollar.

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  30. What did they part ways with Pontecorvo and Antonelli, and what is the status of Tovey?

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  31. @730AM

    When the time is right? Are you kidding? They've had YEARS to bring this slug to market and still haven't found someone to take the risk,, Why is that??

    Bottom line is that if this company was such a "darling" and all that it was cracked up to be, including "the world's largest privately held spinal company" & "the fastest growing company in the history of orthopedics", then investors would be lined up from Wall St. to Audubon, PA courting them to have the inside track on cashing in.

    Well, perhaps David, et all, have been given guidance that their best option is to remain private for the forseeable future?

    As for the question posed by 7:35AM, let's just say that "allegedly" the business ethics of the aforementioned distributorship in becoming "12% of Globus' global revenue" were SEVERELY being called into question.

    The takeaway here is that if you're as good as you say you are, then stand up and prove it to everyone. After all, the great proverb states "the PROOF of the pudding is in the eating".

    In this case, the pudding has been oftly hard to sell.

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  32. It's good to see the first deal of the year done. This is the first of what will hopefully be many deals this year as bigger companies finally start breaking open their fat piggy banks and acquiring some new technologies. Without this kind of activity, promising companies and technologies will just wither on the vine and everybody loses. It will be interesting to see who's next.

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  33. so who was canned? Tovey? 4skin, er i mean 4 spine? couldnt have been them....

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  34. January 13, 2011 3:52 PM - You missed the dripping sarcasm in my post. My point was that the resulting company is a joke.

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  35. I disagree that Alphatec and Globus had the same model. I watched both companies make a pass thru my are. Globus was leading thei sales calls with offers to buy stock in the company. Alphatec did not. Alphatec is still around and have taken some biz from a few legacy companies. The docs using them say they switched because of the legacy reps feeling entitled to their business. I think they simply got beat on service with products that seem to perform as well as anybody's. Still not a big player, but they are making their mark. And I am convinced there are no consultancies because the hospital requires disclosure of such agreements. At least locally, they are doing business above board. The new Globus distributor seems to be ethical, but he can't even get an evaluate case with their products.

    Just my opinion from why I have seen.

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  36. Synthes is a private company...isn't it much larger than globus?

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  37. new distrubutor where?

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  38. 1:52 Yes, Synthes is much larger, as it has various divisions: Spine, Trauma, Maxo-Facial,,

    But it isn't actually a private company. It is actually traded on the foreign exchanges, just not on the NYSE.

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  39. Another facet fusion product...how original. Add it to the list along with Facet Gun, TruFuse, and the rest of the donkeys. Good luck convincing the new Obamacare insurances that these produtcs are more effective than PSF, ALIF, etc. Globus continues to make horrible business decisions. They cant go public or be acquired because no one actually knows what they are worth..its all tied up in surgeons who will jump ship.

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  40. If facet screws are a donkey, then SWEET!

    Fun Fact about donkeys: "Donkeys have a notorious reputation for stubbornness, but this has been attributed to a much stronger sense of "self preservation" than exhibited by horses."-Wikipedia.

    I guess I will be selling Facet screws for a while due to the strong quality of self preservation that this decades-old technology has.

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  41. And this is an investigational device.... what's the point?

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  42. I don't work for Globus, nor am I a surgeon who is invested in them.

    I'm having a hard time trying to figure out why the spineblogger nation continues to cry about Globus and how they get their business? Each company, public or private, pays surgeons to use their stuff.

    Accept it kids...It's not 1996 where we sell on features/benefits or service.

    Just for a laugh, I'd like to see a blog topic on all the different types of ways spine companies have paid surgeons to use their stuff.

    I'll give us a head start...

    -Surgeon trains Jr Reps on products
    -Surgeon gets paid when an engineer/product mgr fly's in to attend a case and gives feedback on another pedicle screw system. "Isn't a screw, a screw?"

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  43. 12:08 AM, you asked "Isn't a screw, a screw?"

    That's what she said.

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  44. Don't forget "distributor training", "x-ray review", "journal club", "author" surgical technique....

    Boom roasted.

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  45. 12:08 I think everyone would agree w/ your point that all companies have consultants & compensate surgeons for their time, feedback, etc accordingliy,,

    I think the point w/ Globus is that of their $300M or so of annual revenue, a significantly high % of it is generated by customers who are "tied" to the company in some way. I believe someone stated above that they aren't aware of many surgeons who use Globus products simply because they are better, different, etc.

    Yes, all companies have "friends of the family" that help drive revenues in their respective markets, however most legacy companies also have a strong following of surgeons using their products who have absolutely no ties to the company whatsoever; the perception & belief is that Globus' make-up is quite different.

    As someone stated above, if the company is so solid, why then haven't they gone public? Rumor has it that they delivered roughly $300M in revenue in 2010, should be solid enough for an IPO but all is still quiet on that front.

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  46. For those who are pro-Globus, please refer to this post from 11/4/2009:

    http://spineblogger.blogspot.com/2009/11/globus-medical-is-it-streets-or-feds.html

    I believe TSB was saying the same thing then, that most are now. As they say, "Same shit, different day."

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  47. Globus is a house of cards, that is why no one has acquired them. How can you truly quantify their net worth with all of the stock options, private funding, etc... $300m in sales, says who? Globus? Go public and open up the books...oh wait, if you go public, then 70% of your business will cash out and that 300m just became 90m..and no one will buy you.

    Facet fusion is so 2005..along with lumbar disc replacements

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  48. 12:08 - Is this some kind of subtle way for you to provide justification for the dollars you've "earned" from a company? I'm not sure you're even a doc.

    I've managed a comparably large volume territory with a legacy company for years, and not a single one of my docs has taken a penny from my company.

    If you're a SALESMAN, then you can still sell on features and benefits a lot of the time. If you can't sell, then you buy business.

    The problem is that all sales reps tend to think they are great at sales. I'm sure we could all use a dose of humility.

    Regardless of the over-saturation, not all screws are created equal. If TSB opened a topic on "quality," you'd be surprised how many stories about subpar screws and instruments from both newcomers and legacy companies would surface (my own company included!).

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  49. Maybe Stryker can clean up the Globus mess. Any thoughts TSB?

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  50. As well as they did with op-1...

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  51. 1:23pm - "I've managed a comparably large volume territory with a legacy company for years, and not a single one of my docs has taken a penny from my company."???!!!

    Did you type this with your ever-growing nose? Give us a break!

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  52. I hope all you slime balls that payoff surgeons and your corrupt surgeons all go to prison where you will all loose your virginity to bubba. My company has NO bought business. There are many ethical companies in this sea of shit. You guys that pay off surgeons are scumbags.

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  53. For all of you reps who don't like surgeon incentives, ask yourself the following question: Would you be willing to forgo your commission if the doc you were servicing were being paid by the company? No? I thought so. The moral outrage seems to conveniently stop when the commission checks are paid!

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  54. 12:37 You are such a dumb As*! The surgeon is already getting paid to do the surgery. Commissions to the reps are earned (and I am not a rep, by the way). PODs are simply and clearly unethical at best and certainly illegal. Watch, the surgeons who self refer will go to prison or pay a very heavy fine. The DOJ will take action when it makes financial sense to them. I concur with 7:40AM.

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  55. Yahoo!!! Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves did it again!!

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  56. Globus "stock" is as diluted as whale piss in the ocean. Next...

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  57. Keep talking about our 'Stock' while we keep taking all of your implant business.
    It us absolutely wonderful to see all non-Globus reps continue to fail.
    Have a great 2011!

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  58. They should have gotten a biologic. Was there nothing out there worth picking up? Without a good biologic, they can't become spine's new darling.

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  59. To: 6:03 AM

    Regarding your comment "It us (sic) absolutely wonderful to see all non-Globus reps continue to fail." ----globus is hemorrhaging reps, VP's, CFO's and others. The place is a revolving door. Most folks are a phone call away from leaving. How's the kool aid?

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  60. The Kool Aid tastes Great MoFo.

    18 new products last year and a lot of starving competitive reps all around me....
    And Yes, a growth line that looks damn near 45 degrees.

    If u need a job shoot over your resume please.
    I will add it to my stack.

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  61. 10:16 I agree with you about the biologic.

    A nice play on Stryker's part was recently adding BioMatrix to their line up - they were in need of it!

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  62. wun sik phuc---how's teleflex-just let it go!

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  63. This is nice. I learned something new here. Something not mentioned in schools that is.

    limited liability company

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  64. Help! I am looking for information on Globus products and FDA approval process. I am a patient who recieved a SI-LOK system and the screw BROKE (about a month later and I was in BED the whole time so NO I didn't break it....LOLOL) and I had to have a second surgery! Still in pain and Doctor is Like "Um...that's never happened?" I don't blame him, as I have a feeling it is the PRODUCT (Manufacturers) fault not the Surgeons fault. I have found others online that have similiar stories and saw that the FDA gave a lot of 510 out. I am trying to find collective information to see if I have a suit (and help other patients that don't have the strength now to help themselves! None of your blog info talks about "US" the patients that endure some of the "above mentioned" craziness. (Although your blog has made me Laugh out Loud many times! LOLOL) Please provide me some kind of info I can take to my attorney and help other victims of Globus. Thanks

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