Samsung Electronics, the world's largest maker of memory chips and flat screens, said Wednesday that it has taken over the U.S.-based medical equipment manufacturer Nexus.
According to an e-mailed statement, Samsung has acquired the Nexus division of ITC Nexus Holding Company, which develops and manufactures cardiac testing solutions. Nexus'line of test kits such as Cardiac STATus and DECISION Point helps diagnose and monitor several cardiovascular diseases.
"This investment represents an exciting opportunity to strengthen Nexus'technological capabilities while enabling Samsung to compete in the cardiac point-of-care testing market," said Bang Yong-chu, vice president of Samsung's health and medical equipment (HME) business team.
Samsung said it planned to complete the deal within this year, but the company did not disclose terms of the transaction in detail.
The acquisition would be the second of its kind after Samsung purchased a 43.5 percent stake in the country's top diagnostic ultrasound equipment maker Medison in February. Samsung announced last year its goal to invest 1.2 trillion won (1.06 billion U.S. dollars) through 2012 in healthcare equipment in a bid to nurture the healthcare business as its new growth engine.
Nexus would operate as part of Samsung's HME division at its current headquarters located in San Diego, California. The ITC Nexus Holding Company, which has provided hemostasis management and point-of-care solutions over the past 40 years, would continue its business under the name of ITC.
