CHICAGO – Attorney General Kwame Raoul, with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, today announced they have joined the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) lawsuit to block the acquisition of Surmodics Inc. (Surmodics) by GTCR BC Holdings LLC (GTCR) alleging that the deal, which seeks to combine the two largest manufacturers of critical medical device coatings, is anticompetitive.
“The proposed acquisition of Surmodics by a private equity firm represents a troubling trend of wealthy investors attempting to limit competition and innovation in a market while extracting advantages that come from eliminating competitors,” Raoul said. “If approved, this acquisition would increase prices for Illinois residents by putting profits before people. I will continue to work to increase options for consumers and rein in anticompetitive behavior wherever it occurs.”
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In their lawsuit, Raoul and the FTC allege that private equity firm GTCR’s proposed acquisition of Surmodics would create a combined company that would control more than 50% of the market for outsourced hydrophilic coatings, critical components of lifesaving medical devices such as catheters and guidewires. Raoul’s lawsuit argues that direct competition between the two companies has spurred lower prices, higher-quality coatings and product innovation. The proposed acquisition would upend those competitive dynamics and harm medical device manufacturers as well as patients.
Raoul’s lawsuit, filed on Wednesday in the Northern District of Illinois, seeks a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction preventing GTCR and Surmodics from finalizing the proposed acquisition until a full administrative hearing can be held on the merits.
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