Candela Acquires Inolase

Aesthetic laser maker Candela Corp. announced yesterday that it will acquire Inolase Ltd. of Netanya, Israel, for $16.5 million in a cash.

Inolase manufactures Pneumatic Skin Flattening (PSF), a vacuum-driven technology that helps reduce the pain associated with treatments by lasers and light-based devices. PSF is FDA approved for use in hair removal when used with lasers or IPLs (intense pulsed lights) and is being evaluated for use in other applications, including skin rejuvenation, skin tightening and treating pigmented lesions and tattoos.

Candela said it plans to market PSF to work with its laser equipment beginning in the fall of 2007, and the acquisition is expected to be accretive to earnings within 18 months.

"Pain is the most significant inhibitor to broad consumer adoption of these treatments. By reducing the pain, we can also eliminate the need for costly and time consuming analgesic creams. PSF is convenient and easy to use because it does not require the modification of existing treatment protocols. Concurrent with the roll-out of PSF to existing customers, we plan to offer PSF as an option on many of our new product offerings," said Candela President and CEO Gerard E. Puorro.

Candela also announced it has created an Emerging Opportunities Unit to develop, acquire and integrate innovative technologies and new product offerings. Under the direction of Catherine Kniker, newly promoted to senior vice president, Corporate Strategic Development, this new unit will be responsible for pursuing a series of new applications, including home-based products.

"As part of today's transaction, we also acquired additional intellectual property which, when implemented, can remove the inadvertent threat of injury to the eye from lasers while maintaining treatment efficacy. This technology paves the way for Candela to develop safe, over-the-counter devices for home use across a number of applications," Kniker said.

Candela today also announced the creation of a Customer Operations Div., comprising sales, marketing, field service and customer service. The three subunits will be North America, Japan and International. The company also announced, effective immediately, a 35 percent expansion in North American sales representatives, increasing the number of sales regions from four to six.

For more information, visit: www.candelalaser.com