Heraeus is getting out of the dental business, announcing today that it is selling its entire dental business group – which employs 1,400 people worldwide – to Mitsui Chemicals for 450 million euros ($578 million U.S.).
Heraeus Dental ranks among the top providers of dental solutions and materials, including precious metal alloys and materials for prosthetic treatments, teeth and materials for full prosthetic treatments, casting materials, and compounds used for local anesthesia, according to a company press release.
The introduction of new restorative materials and treatments has fundamentally changed the Heraeus Dental business in recent years, the company noted. In particular, the use of precious metals products, Heraeus' traditional core business, has dropped dramatically in dental medicine. Heraeus Dental reported revenues of 360 million euros ($463 million) in 2012.
Mitsui, which is based in Tokyo, intends to retain all of Heraeus Dental's employees in 20 worldwide locations, according to Heraeus. In addition, Heraeus Dental's existing management will remain intact and will continue the company's operations. No further job cuts are planned beyond the measures that were introduced this past year, the company noted. The headquarters of Heraeus Dental's managing company, Heraeus Kulzer, will remain in Hanau, Germany.
For the last two years, Mitsui Chemicals has been working to grow its healthcare business through its Functional Chemicals group, the company noted in a news release. Its subsidiary, Sun Medical, has been involved in the dental materials business for more than 30 years and has a strong market presence on the Japanese domestic market, Mitsui noted. The acquisition of Heraeus will enable Mitsui to expand its presence in the global dental market.
“[The] dental business is resilient to changing economic conditions, and significant growth is expected, leveraged by the increase in aging of worldwide populations,” the company stated in the release. “The acquisition of Heraeus Dental, whose main strength is in precious metals processing, by Mitsui Chemicals, which has a good track record in chemical areas such as polymer technology, is expected to accelerate future growth in the dental materials segment.”
