Welch Allyn has new parent company as Baxter completes acquisition of Hillrom

Chicago, Illinois–based Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc. has launched a workforce-reduction plan, which includes a voluntary retirement program and “involuntary severance actions.” Hill-Rom, which bought Welch Allyn in Skaneateles Falls in 2015, says it’s too early to know the overall impact on Welch Allyn since the application period for the retirement program has just started. (Eric Reinhardt / CNYBJ

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX), an Illinois medical-products company, on Monday announced it has completed its acquisition of Hillrom (NYSE:HRC) in a $10.5 billion deal.

Hillrom is the parent company of Welch Allyn in Skaneateles Falls.

Baxter paid $156 in cash for each outstanding share of Hillrom common stock, per Baxter’s news release.

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Including the assumption of Hillrom’s outstanding debt obligations, the enterprise value of the transaction is about $12.5 billion.

Hillrom, a global medical-technology firm, is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, while Baxter International (NYSE: BAX) is headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, a Chicago suburb.

Baxter’s proposed acquisition of Hillrom was announced on Sept. 2.

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Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc. in June 2015 announced plans to acquire Welch Allyn Inc. for about $2.05 billion in cash and stock. Nearly three years later, Hillrom formally dedicated a $12.7 million expansion project that adds about 100,000 square feet to the Welch Allyn campus.

Welch Allyn employs about 1,000 people in Skaneateles Falls, according to CNYBJ research.

“The Baxter-Hillrom combination unlocks the next phase of our transformation, presenting a new wave of potential to drive greater impact for patients, clinicians, employees, shareholders and other communities we serve worldwide,” José (Joe) Almeida, chairman, president and CEO of Baxter, said. “Integrating our complementary capabilities introduces additional opportunities for growth across our broad geographic footprint and also creates remarkable new possibilities for connectivity with leading-edge digital health innovation focused on enhancing care, lowering costs and increasing workflow efficiency.”

The combination unites two med-tech organizations in a “shared vision for transforming healthcare and advancing patient care worldwide.”

Baxter says plans to build on its global footprint, including commercial and service infrastructure, to expand legacy Hillrom and Welch Allyn products into new international markets, bringing the collective portfolio of products and services to even more patients and providers worldwide, per its news release.

Eric Reinhardt: