The US$170.2 million MGC Diagnostics deal fits NGK’s long-term medical expansion goal. (NGK pic)
TOKYO: Japanese auto parts manufacturer NGK Spark Plug said Monday that it will purchase MGC Diagnostics Holdings, a US medical device maker, in a deal worth US$170.2 million.
NGK will make the acquisition through its US subsidiary Caire, which produces oxygen concentrators. Once the transaction closes on Dec 30, MGC will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Caire.
The rise of electric vehicles has put pressure on NGK to shift away from its main business of supplying parts for gasoline-engine autos. The MGC purchase fits the group’s long-term goal of expanding its footprint in the medical industry.
MGC manufactures cardiopulmonary diagnostic equipment, including for asthma. The company’s sales for the year ended October 2021 totalled roughly US$64 million.
The Japanese company will use MGC’s sales channels to distribute the group’s medical products. The NGK group makes and sells oxygen concentrators.
Parts for internal combustion engines, such as spark plugs and exhaust sensors, account for 80% of NGK’s consolidated sales. The group announced a long-term management plan in 2020 that emphasised strengthening its medical business.
In September, NGK announced an investment in NOTA Laboratories, a US healthcare startup that makes products to treat patients with respiratory problems.
