Natus Medical (BABY) to Acquire GN.CO's GN Otometrics Unit in $145M Deal; Offers Q3 Update

Natus Medical Incorporated (Nasdaq: BABY) announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with GN Store Nord A/S (GN.CO) under which Natus will acquire the GN Otometrics ("Otometrics") business from GN Store Nord in an all cash transaction for $145 million. With annual revenue of approximately $110 million, Otometrics is a manufacturer of hearing diagnostics and balance assessment equipment, disposables & software, currently being sold in over 86 countries.

"Otometrics has several leading brands and has introduced many industry firsts," said Jim Hawkins, President and Chief Executive Officer of Natus. "With the addition of Otometrics, we anticipate Natus revenue in 2017 will reach $500 million, a major milestone for the company. We expect Otometrics to be accretive to our 2017 earnings with a non-GAAP contribution operating margin goal for the year of 10% and a 2018 goal of 20%."

Natus also announced that it has entered into a $150 million revolving credit agreement with JP Morgan Chase, N.A. and Citibank, N.A. Natus will use offshore cash and proceeds from this credit line to fund the acquisition.

The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2016.

Q3 Revenue Update

Natus updated its third quarter 2016 revenue guidance to $89 million to $91 million compared to previous guidance of $97 million to $98 million. A majority of the expected shortfall is due to a voluntary ship hold the Company placed on certain products produced in its Seattle facility. The remaining shortfall is primarily due to lower demand in the international markets. The ship hold is not related to any product safety issue. The ship hold is in place while the Company remediates deficiencies in its engineering and manufacturing quality processes. The Company expects to resume shipments of these products during the fourth quarter 2016 and the first quarter of 2017.

*** The Street sees Q3 revenue of $97.8 million.

"We are committed to bringing our Seattle design and manufacturing systems up to required regulatory standards and we have placed a voluntary ship hold on certain products that are produced in Seattle," said Mr. Hawkins. "While we continue to take orders, we will not ship affected products until we have completed the remediation process," Mr. Hawkins continued.

Conference Call

Natus has scheduled an investment-community conference call to discuss the acquisition of Otometrics and anticipated third quarter revenue beginning at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time (5:30 a.m. Pacific Time) Monday, September 26, 2016. Individuals interested in listening to the conference call may do so by dialing 1-844-634-1441 for domestic callers, or 1-508-637-5658 for international callers, and entering reservation code 87074076. A telephone replay will be available for 48 hours following the conclusion of the call by dialing 1-855-859-2056 for domestic callers, or 1-404-537-3406 for international callers, and entering reservation code 87074076. The conference call also will be available real-time via the Internet at http://investor.natus.com, and a recording of the call will be available on the Company's Web site for 90 days following the completion of the call.

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