New Company is a Global Leader in Products and Services to Treat Late-Stage Cardiovascular Disease
IRVINE, Calif., April 3, 2000 – Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE: EW), an $800 million leader in products and services to treat late-stage cardiovascular disease, begins trading publicly on the New York Stock Exchange today under the ticker symbol “EW” after the company’s spin-off from Baxter International Inc. (NYSE: BAX).
The spin-off, finalized on March 31, took the form of a tax-free dividend of Edwards Lifesciences common stock to Baxter shareholders. Baxter shareholders received one share of Edwards Lifesciences stock for each five shares of Baxter stock they owned on March 29. Edwards Lifesciences now has approximately 58 million shares outstanding. The company’s shares began trading on a “when-issued” basis March 27.
Edwards Lifesciences designs, develops and markets a comprehensive line of products and services to treat late-stage cardiovascular disease. Focusing on cardiac surgery, critical care, vascular systems and perfusion products and services, the company is the worldwide leader in both tissue replacement heart valves and heart valve repair products. Its leading product brands include Bentley, Carpentier-Edwards, Cosgrove-Edwards, Duraflo, Fogarty, Novacor, Research Medical, Starr-Edwards and Swan-Ganz. The company also offers contract clinical services through its Edwards Lifesciences Cardiovascular Resources operation.
“This is an exciting time for our company as we leverage our 40-year heritage of innovation, quality and trust in the cardiovascular community and enter a new era as a leading global provider of treatments for patients fighting cardiovascular disease,” said Michael A. Mussallem, Edwards Lifesciences chairman and CEO. “We believe Edwards Lifesciences has a great product and service platform from which to build. We are in an exciting and expanding industry, and we have an opportunity to grow our company and generate additional shareholder value.”
“As an independent company,” he added, “we are clearly focused and better positioned than ever to drive future treatments for cardiovascular disease, one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide.”
Mussallem noted that all of the approximately 5,000 Edwards Lifesciences employees worldwide, including non-management employees, will become owners of the company through a special, one-time grant of stock or stock options.
The Edwards Lifesciences name can be traced to one of the company’s founders, Miles “Lowell” Edwards, known to clinicians worldwide for his pioneering therapies and products. Edwards was the entrepreneurial electrical engineer credited with co-inventing the first commercially available artificial heart valve, among many other medical advances. In the late 1950s, he founded a medical device company in Orange County, Calif., that would later become American Edwards Laboratories. That company was acquired by Baxter in 1985.
Edwards' inventions, including the first implantable heart valve, the first hemodynamic monitoring balloon catheter, the first catheter to remove clots from peripheral blood vessels, and the first disposable bubble oxygenator for heart-lung bypass, have been credited with saving countless lives around the world.
Baxter International Inc. is a global medical products and services company that focuses on critical therapies for people with life-threatening conditions. Baxter's products and services in blood therapies (biopharmaceuticals and blood collection, separation and storage devices), medication delivery and renal therapy are used by health-care providers and their critically ill patients in more than 100 countries.
Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., Edwards Lifesciences conducts business in more than 80 countries. With pro forma sales of more than $800 million in 1999, the company has a strong international presence, with more than 35 percent of its sales generated outside of the United States, and extensive manufacturing operations in North America, Europe, Japan (through a contractual joint venture with Baxter) and Latin America.
(Bentley, Carpentier-Edwards, Cosgrove-Edwards, Duraflo, Fogarty, Novacor, Research Medical, Starr-Edwards and Swan-Ganz are trademarks of Edwards Lifesciences Corporation, registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.)
This news release includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including those related to timing or results of pending or future clinical trials, actions by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and European Union, technological advances in the medical field, product demand and market acceptance, the effect of economic conditions and other risks detailed in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements are based on estimates and assumptions made by management of the company and are believed to be reasonable, though are inherently uncertain and difficult to predict. Actual results or experience could differ materially from the forward-looking statements.
Editor’s Note: For additional information about Edwards Lifesciences, go to the company’s Web site at www.edwards.com.
Contact Information :
Media, Scott Nelson, +1-949-250-5070, or Investors, David K. Erickson, +1-949-250-6826