Inverness Medical Innovations to acquire Hemosense

9 August 2007

Inverness Medical Innovations, Inc. (AMEX:IMA) is to acquire point- of-care diagnostics supplier HemoSense, Inc. (AMEX:HEM) in an all stock deal. HemoSense manufactures and sells handheld blood coagulation systems for monitoring patients taking warfarin. Inverness manufacturers and markets diagnostic products for the laboratory, professional, and consumer markets worldwide.

Each holder of a share of HemoSense common stock will receive 0.274192 shares of Inverness common stock in the transaction, which represents a 37.5% premium on recent share prices.

The Inverness share price reached a multi-year peak in June and has generally dropped since, finishing at 46.36 on 7 August. The company recently announced a loss of $54.5m for the second quarter of 2007, attributed largely to the recent acquisition of Biosite. In 2006 and this year it has carried out a spate of acquisitions, including Med-Ox, Instant Technologies, Promesan, Orange Medical, and QAS.

"With the acquisition of HemoSense, Inverness takes another step in our strategy of providing diagnostic testing to hospitals, physicians' offices, and the home for patient self testing," said Ron Zwanziger, Chairman and CEO of Inverness. "HemoSense is a particularly good fit with Biosite and QAS, which we have recently acquired. As healthcare moves closer to personal responsibility, Inverness is and will remain at the forefront with the materials and methods that allow individuals to take better control of their health."

Jim Merselis, CEO of HemoSense stated, "This deal presents a unique opportunity for HemoSense to expand its growth as a part of Inverness. We are excited about the prospect of combining our capabilities with Inverness' demonstrated commitment to the field of cardiology, and we expect to make a significant impact together."

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