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Brendon Nafziger, DOTmed News Associate Editor | May 09, 2011
Samsung Electronics Co. said Sunday the diagnostic ultrasound manufacturer Medison Co. Ltd. that it owns a controlling stake in will now be known as Samsung Medison, as the Korean electronics giant readies its push into the growing health care sector.
When launching the new brand name, Samsung Medison CEO Sang-Won Bang said the company aims to be among the world's top four ultrasound makers. Currently, it claims to be the sixth-largest diagnostic ultrasound developer in the world.
In February, Samsung
bought a 43.5 percent stake in Medison. Terms of the purchase from private equity firm Consus Asset Management Co. initially were not disclosed, but a March report from the Yonhap News Agency said the deal was valued at 331.30 billion won ($295.59 million).
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Samsung is in talks to buy the 22 percent stake in Medison owned by Korea Credit, according to an April Korea JoongAng Daily report.
Samsung said it invests more than 10 percent of annual sales in R&D, and plans to employ more than 10,000 people in its medical equipment business by 2020.
In 1996, Medison developed Asia's first digital diagnostic ultrasound system, according to a timeline on the company's website. The company, which makes the Accuvix and SonoAce series ultrasound systems, was founded in 1985.
Samsung Medison's U.S. headquarters is in Cypress, Calif.
