Steris Completes $1.9B Acquisition of Synergy Health

London, United Kingdom-based Steris plc has completed the $1.9 billion acquisition of Synergy Health plc. The combined companies will continue under the Steris name and trade under the STE ticker symbol on the New York Stock Exchange.

“This combination marks a significant milestone for Steris, creating a stronger global leader in infection prevention and sterilization, better-positioned to provide comprehensive solutions to medical device companies, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals and other healthcare facilities around the world,” said Walt Rosebrough, president and CEO of Steris.

On Oct. 30, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it will not pursue further administrative proceedings challenging the combination between Steris Corporation and Synergy, and the FTC has formally dismissed a previous administrative complaint.

Both the federal court complaint and the administrative complaint alleged that the challenged acquisition would violate the antitrust laws by eliminating the likely future competition between Steris’s gamma sterilization facilities and Synergy’s planned X-ray sterilization facilities in certain regional markets in the United States, thus depriving customers of an alternative sterilization service and additional competition.

“Although we still have competitive concerns about this acquisition, we have concluded that further adjudication would not serve the public interest,” Commission officials said in a statement. “The district court’s denial of preliminary relief would render it difficult for us to craft meaningful relief were we to find the merger unlawful at the conclusion of the administrative proceeding.”

Steris makes infection prevention, decontamination and surgical technology.