Royal Philips Electronics will acquire Discus Holdings -- parent company of Discus Dental -- through a merger designed to enhance Philips' health and wellness business and expand Discus' reach in the global teeth-whitening market, the companies announced October 11.
Previously privately held, Discus offers a number of well-known professional teeth-whitening products, including Zoom, BriteSmile, and NiteWhite. In recent years the company expanded into other areas in dentistry, including oral care, restoratives, endodontics, and soft-tissue lasers.
"Oral healthcare is an important part of our strategy to enhance consumer health and well-being, and an important growth driver of our portfolio," said Philips Consumer Lifestyle CEO Pieter Nota in a press release. "Discus' professional tooth-whitening business provides a strong foundation for growth in the cosmetic dentistry space and will strengthen Philips' position as a leading oral healthcare brand amongst dental professionals and consumers. Moreover, Discus' oral care products complement our existing Sonicare portfolio, further building our relationship with dental professionals."
Discus has spent the last 20 years working to become the market leader in teeth whitening, the company told DrBicuspid.com. Having achieved that goal, the founders felt a global player in oral healthcare would be able to take the company to the next level. They expect this change to have no effect on Discus customers or their orders at this time, Discus said.
"We created Discus almost 20 years ago with the goal of making it easy to improve patient smiles," said William Dorfman, D.D.S., founder of Discus Dental. "By joining the Philips organization, our products will benefit from unprecedented growth opportunities, making tooth whitening even more accessible to a broader audience."
Upon completion of the transaction, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2010, pending regulatory approvals, Discus will become part of Philips' Consumer Lifestyle sector's Health and Wellness business. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.
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