Dental Supplier Drills into Brazil

Swiss dental implant maker Straumann has agreed to acquire a 49% stake in Brazil’s Neodent for CHF260 ($274m), it says. Curitiba-based Neodent is a privately held manufacturer of dental implants and related prosthetic components. It controls about 33% of the Brazilian dental implant market, which Straumann calls the world’s second-largest. Under the terms of the all-cash deal, Straumann will receive options to increase its stake to 100% over the next 6 years. The companies will continue to operate as separate brands. Neodent also has subsidiaries in Portugal and Mexico, and has more than 10 distributors in South America. Straumann expects significant growth in Brazil in the coming years due to an aging population and an expanding middle class, it says.