ビスコリオージ・ブラザーズにオリンパスから約23億円

ビスコリオージ・ブラザーズって名前だけでもアレですが・・・

これじゃモロバレでんがな！（爆ｗ

Temple of Apollo Sosianus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia via kwout

Herrick, Feinstein LLP: Experience: News: Viscogliosi Brothers Acts as a Strategic Advisor to Olympus Corporation on OP-1 Bone Acquisition from Stryker Corporation via kwout

Herrick, Feinstein LLP: Our Firm via kwout

スモール・ボーン・イノベーションズ、日本政府の製造施設認定を受ける

（ビジネスワイヤ） -- スモール・ボーン・イノベーションズ（SBi）は本日、米ペンシルベニア州モリスビルとフランス・ペロナの施設が日本政府の製造業者認定を受けたと発表しました。この認定により製品を日本で登録できることになります。日本は整形外科技術に関する地域最大の市場であり、年間売り上げは250億ドルに達します。

この認定はSBiにとって、東京のオリンパス テルモ バイオマテリアル株式会社（OTB）との戦略的提携の発展における必須かつ重要な一歩です。この提携は昨年発表され、SBiの基幹商品であるSTAR™人工膝関節全置換システムなど、小骨・関節用インプラントおよび器具の幅広い製品群を日本で独占的に販売するためのものです。

SBiは非公開の整形外科企業です。手指、手、手首、肘、足指、足と足首の小骨・関節向けの関節置換（関節形成）と外傷後再建の治療法に注力しています。

厚生労働省は整形外科製品に関する「一般区分」で認定証を発行しました。申請の審査では、SBiが現在適用している製造基準や製造実態に加え、OTBとの提携によってあらゆる関係規則を順守して日本全国に製品を供給する能力に関する包括的な審査が行われました。

オリンパス株式会社のバイオテック事業部長でオリンパスバイオテックの最高経営責任者（CEO）兼社長を務める水野均氏は、次のように述べています。「現在、整形外科技術への需要が日本で急激に拡大していることから見ても、この認定は提携の発展における重要な一歩です。」

SBiのAnthony G. Viscogliosi会長兼最高経営責任者（CEO）は、次のように述べています。「日本における製造者認定は、日本市場で信頼される地位を得ようとする会社にとって必ず必要となる品質とコンプライアンスの承認です。当社はオリンパスと子会社のOTBの両社と提携することにより、世界最先端の整形外科市場の1つに足場を築き、当社のアジア太平洋における成長力を強化することになります。」

スモール・ボーン・イノベーションズについて

スモール・ボーン・イノベーションズ（SBi）は、筋骨格と整形外科を専門とするニューヨークの商業銀行Viscogliosi Brothers, LLC（VB）によって2004年に設立されました。SBiは、整形外科分野の実績ある企業と専門家を集めて小骨と関節に焦点を絞った初の企業です。小骨と関節における外傷と疾患を治療するための製品と技術で、臨床的に実証された広範なポートフォリオを提供しています。

SBiはニューヨーク州ニューヨーク、ペンシルベニア州モリスビル、フランス・ペロナ、ドイツ・ドナウエッシンゲン、マレーシア・クアラルンプールに施設を有し、46カ国で製品を販売しています。

将来見通しに関する記述についての注意とSBiに関する詳細情報については、http://www.totalsmallbone.com/us/press.php4をご覧ください。

本記者発表文の公式バージョンはオリジナル言語版です。翻訳言語版は、読者の便宜を図る目的で提供されたものであり、法的効力を持ちません。翻訳言語版を資料としてご利用になる際には、法的効力を有する唯一のバージョンであるオリジナル言語版と照らし合わせて頂くようお願い致します。

Contact

Small Bone Innovations, Inc.
Varun Gandhi, 212-583-0370 ext. 2126
vgandhi@totalsmallbone.com

http://www.regrese.jp/release/details/87/910/

一応あのガンジーさんとは無関係のようですが・・・（爆ｗ

オリンパス、5件目の買収案件が浮上
2011年 10月 28日 15:19 JST

オリンパスの社内資料やケイマン諸島の記録によると、同社が日本企業3社の買収で支払った10億ドル近い資金の大半は、ケイマン諸島を拠点とする実態不明の複数の企業に流れた。

一方、オリンパスを解任されたマイケル・ウッドフォード元社長の書簡により、別の取引も浮上している。同社が米医療器具会社の買収で投資助言会社への融資を組み、その後まもなくその融資を償却処理した案件だ。
イメージ Associated Press

オリンパスが3社買収で行った支払いについては、同社監査役会の依頼を受けた外部委員会が2009年に作成した報告書に記されており、ウォール・ストリート・ジャーナルはこの報告書を確認している。しかし、矛盾するようだが、この報告書は3社の大株主を「（複数の）欧州ファンド」としている。ケイマン諸島の企業の資本は特定されていない。

同委員会の報告書は、同社の取締役らが買収案件に絡んだ不正行為をしていないとしている。

オリンパスは同報告書に関する事柄へのコメントを控えた。

オリンパスの森久志副社長は27日の会見で、3社の株主に関して自社が持つ情報は、株主の企業名と銀行口座だけだと述べた。「株主が誰かは全くわかっていない」という。

ケイマン諸島の企業記録によると、このうち3社は08年ないし09年に解散あるいは閉鎖している。オリンパスから資金を受け取った直後のことだ。

オリンパスで精査されているもう1つの案件、英医療機器メーカーのジャイラス買収にもケイマン諸島の企業に対する数億ドルの支払いが絡んでいた。この企業も後に解散した。

ケイマン諸島は、機密保持と税制面での有利さを求める国際企業によって利用されることが多い。登記している企業に関してほとんど情報を公開していないことが一因だ。

オリンパスが買収した3社は、資源リサイクル会社アルティス、化粧品・健康食品販売のヒューマラボ、電子レンジ調理器具メーカーのニューズシェフ。09年の報告書によると、このうちアルティスとヒューマラボは、「ネオ・ストラテジック・ベンチャー」と称する法人から08年3月に買収された。記録によると、この名前の企業は2000年にケイマン諸島で設立され、08年9月に解散している。

08年3月には大量のニューズシェフ株を「ニュー・インベストメンツ」から取得した。この名前のケイマン企業は2000年に設立され、09年早期に解散している。

オリンパスは、米医療器具会社が絡んだ別の取引で、米ブティック型投資銀行ビスコリオージ・ブラザーズのアドバイスを受けた。この買収の一環としてオリンパスがビスコリオージに組んだ約2300億ドルの融資について、ウッドフォード氏は9月23日付のオリンパスの森氏あて書簡で疑問を呈している。

本紙が確認したウッドフォード氏の書簡は「ビスコリオージ・ブラザーズがこの取引で担った役割や、当初融資を組んだ根拠、後に償却が必要だった理由はまだわからない」としている。

オリンパスはこの件に関してコメントを控え、この案件を発表した10年12月のニュースリリースに言及した。

ビスコリオージを兄弟で共同創設したアントニー・ビスコリオージ氏はオリンパスとの関係について、機密保持契約を理由にコメントを控えた。

記者: Mark Maremont and Joann S. Lublin
http://jp.wsj.com/Japan/Companies/node_333049

Source: Small Bone Innovations, Inc.
Date: December 05, 2006 11:15 ET
Small Bone Innovations Chairman and CEO, Anthony Viscogliosi, to Lead Panel At MedTech Insight's 'In-Spine and Orthopedics' Conference
Viscogliosi to Also Present SBi -- The Founder and Leader of the Small Bone and Joint Market December 11th and 12th, 2006, The Venetian Hotel, Las Vegas
http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/news.html?d=109897

NEW YORK, Dec. 5, 2006 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Anthony G. Viscogliosi, Chairman & CEO of Small Bone Innovations, Inc. (SBi), will moderate and lead a panel of experts on legal, regulatory and clinical issues during MedTech Insight's "In Spine & Orthopedics" conference on December 11th, 2006 at The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino, Las Vegas, NV. He will also be presenting separately on December 12th an overview of Small Bone Innovations, Inc.

For the separate deal involving the purchase of a U.S. orthopedic firm from medical-device maker Stryker Corp., Olympus was advised by Viscogliosi Brothers LLC, a boutique, U.S-based merchant bank. In a Sept. 23 letter to Olympus's Mr. Mori, Mr. Woodford raised questions about a roughly $23 million loan that Olympus made to Viscogliosi as part of the deal.

"I'm still unclear as to the role played by Viscogliosi Brothers in the transaction and the basis upon which the loan was originally made, and why it subsequently will need to be written off," Mr. Woodford wrote in the letter, which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

Olympus declined to comment on the deal, pointing instead to a December 2010 news release announcing the acquisition.

Anthony Viscogliosi, who founded the firm with two brothers, declined to comment on his relationship with Olympus, citing "the confidentiality disclosure agreement we have in place."

An outside Stryker spokesman didn't return calls for comment.

Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203687504577002564084090838.html#ixzz1c6Ynghxn

December 08, 2010 04:21 PM Eastern Daylight Time
Viscogliosi Brothers Acts as a Strategic Advisor to Olympus Corporation on OP-1 Bone Acquisition from Stryker Corporation

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Viscogliosi Bros., LLC (VB), a merchant banking and venture capital/private equity firm focused exclusively on the musculoskeletal/orthopedics sector, today reported it acted as strategic advisor to Olympus Corporation for its $60 million purchase of Stryker Corporation’s OP-1 bone product family, which includes OP-1 Implant, OP-1 Putty, Opgenra and Osigraft.

Anthony G. Viscogliosi, a Principal at VB, said: “We are extremely pleased to have had the opportunity to advise Olympus Corporation on this transaction. We believe that the combination of Olympus' existing biomaterial and regenerative medicine technologies and OP-1 bone products will allow Olympus to achieve a leadership position in regenerative medicine globally. We look forward to continuing to advise the Olympus team and unlocking the potential we all see in the OP-1 bone product family.”

About Viscogliosi Brothers, LLC.

Established by Marc R. Viscogliosi, John J. Viscogliosi and Anthony G. Viscogliosi in New York City in 1999, Viscogliosi Bros., LLC (VB) was the first merchant banking and venture capital/private equity firm dedicated exclusively to the musculoskeletal/orthopedics sector of the health care industry.

VB's mission is to create, build and finance companies founded on innovations developed by surgeons and uniquely focused on "life changing" musculoskeletal/orthopedic technologies. Marc, Anthony and John Viscogliosi have executed multiple financial, strategic and management transactions for companies in the musculoskeletal/orthopedic sector.

For more information on VB, please visit: www.vbllc.com

Forward-looking statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of risks and uncertainties impacting SBi’s business including increased competition; the ability of SBi to expand its operations and to attract and retain qualified professionals; technological obsolescence; general economic conditions; and other risks.

Contacts

Viscogliosi Bros., LLC
Anthony G. Viscogliosi, 212-583-9700 ext. 2101
aviscogliosi@vbllc.com
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20101208006825/en/Viscogliosi-Brothers-Acts-Strategic-Advisor-Olympus-Corporation

October 27, 2011

REUTERS

Soon after paying a record-setting fee to close a now-controversial takeover in the spring of 2010, Japanese camera and endoscope maker Olympus Corp was back out shopping for another deal.

Once again, it turned to a New York-based advisory firm outside the dealmaking mainstream and once again the Japanese company ended up paying an out-sized amount to complete a tangled deal that has come under scrutiny, internal company documents show.

Olympus agreed in December last year to buy the rights to a biotech remedy intended to help regenerate human bone from medical device maker Stryker Corp for $60 million.

But the documents reviewed by Reuters show that the deal may end up costing the Japanese firm around 50 percent more, thanks to payments made to its adviser.

Olympus made a $25 million loan to Viscogliosi Brothers, the firm that advised it on the transaction and expects it will need to write off most of that amount, according to the documents.

The Japanese company also paid a higher-than-normal $5 million transaction fee to Viscogliosi Brothers and agreed to reimburse $4.4 million in expenses, the documents show. The fees for advisers are typically 2 percent to 3 percent for deals of this size.

Richard Torrenzano, a spokesman for Viscogliosi Brothers, said the firm could not discuss the deal under terms imposed by Olympus.

"Unfortunately, we are bound by a confidentiality agreement with Olympus and cannot comment on any aspect of the deal," he said.

Olympus declined to comment, as did Stryker spokesman Aaron Kwittken.

A string of troubled acquisitions by Olympus has cost the company more than $1.2 billion in charges and write-offs, led to the resignation of Chairman Tsuyoshi Kikukawa and forced the company to appoint a panel to investigate in the face of a plunging share price.

The 2010 biotech deal is small by comparison to some of Olympus' other deals. But like those acquisitions it was challenged by former Olympus CEO Michael Woodford and could raise questions about the company's governance and management.

Woodford, 51, has said he was fired in a boardroom coup at Olympus for questioning a $687 million payment to advisers in the $2.2 billion takeover of medical equipment maker Gyrus in 2008.

The FBI is investigating the massive advisory fee and Woodford has called on authorities in Japan and Britain to launch investigations of their own. Woodford was in New York on Oct. 26 to meet with the FBI.

Sources have told Reuters that Japan's securities watchdog was looking into past Olympus takeover deals.

Olympus documents provided to Reuters by Woodford show that the former CEO raised questions about the Stryker acquisition and the role of advisers in that deal as well.

"I'm still unclear as to the role played by Viscogliosi Brothers in the transaction and the basis upon which the loan was originally made," Woodford said in a Sept. 23 memo to Olympus Executive Vice President Hisashi Mori.

The documents reviewed by Reuters also include contractual agreements between Olympus and Viscogliosi Brothers signed in April and November of 2010, an April 2010 letter of intent between Stryker and Viscogliosi Brothers, and an Aug. 31, 2011 internal Olympus presentation related to the deal.

Olympus has described its acquisitions as a way to diversify from its major markets in optical equipment including cameras and the endoscopes that surgeons now rely on for less invasive surgeries.

On Dec. 7, 2010, Olympus announced in a news release that it had formed a new unit, Olympus Biotech. At the same time, it announced that the unit had acquired a line of bone growth therapies from Stryker that would be part of its stepped-up push into biotechnology.

The Stryker assets that Olympus acquired, including a Lebanon, New Hampshire plant, weren't unencumbered.

In August 2010, Kalamazoo, Michigan-based Stryker agreed to pay $1.35 million to settle claims by Massachusetts prosecutors that the company marketed its bone growth products for uses that had not been cleared by federal regulators.

The products known as OP-1 are based on a naturally occurring protein used to stimulate bone growth. Stryker Biotech only had U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for the product under the humanitarian device exemption, which limits the number of units that can be sold and typically prohibits the company from making a profit.

The Olympus news release did not mention the advisory role that Viscogliosi Brothers had played in the deal or payments to the firm.

Viscogliosi Brothers, a merchant banking and venture capital firm that focuses on the musculoskeletal and orthopedics sector, was founded by Anthony Viscogliosi, 49, and two of his brothers.

A graduate in economics from the University of Michigan-Dearborn, Viscogliosi has said he was attracted to orthopedics because of its cutting-edge nature.

Each of his e-mails ends with a quote from American poet and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail," he told students at his former college in a presentation a year ago just as his firm was wrapping up discussions with Olympus.

Viscogliosi Brothers first signed a letter of intent with Stryker in April 2010 to buy the assets of Stryker Biotech.

The agreement envisaged the Viscogliosi Brothers would form a new company with other investors and buy the assets from Stryker for $50 million. It also gave Stryker an option to take up to a 19.9 percent stake in the new company.

Within days of the agreement, Viscogliosi Brothers signed a confidentiality agreement with Olympus, and subsequently agreed to form a 50-50 joint venture with the Japanese firm to buy Stryker's assets.

This was not the first deal between Olympus and Viscogliosi Brothers. Small Bone Innovations Inc, a company controlled by Viscogliosi Brothers, got a $12 million investment from Olympus in March 2010, according to a company press release.

In May 2010, Small Bone Innovations also announced agreements with Olympus Terumo Biomaterials Corp to distribute Small Bone products in Japan and China.

However, Olympus changed its mind about having Viscogliosi Brothers as a joint venture partner in the bid for the Stryker Biotech assets.

In November 2010, the Japanese company reached a deal with Viscogliosi Brothers to keep them out of the acquisition. In return, it agreed to give the New York firm the $25 million loan and other payments.

In an Aug. 31 presentation, Olympus Biotech cites "uncertainty of potential compliance issues" as the reason for the abrupt shift in approach.

The Olympus loan to Viscogliosi Brothers carries an eight-year term and 7-percent interest rate, and is collateralized by Viscogliosi Brothers' interests in two companies -- Small Bone Innovations and Paradigm Spine LLC.

Viscogliosi Brothers agreed to use the proceeds from the loan to pay off debt owed to Fortress Investment Group Inc.

Small Bone Innovations had taken out a $30 million debt facility from Fortress in 2009. Fortress spokesman Gordon Runte declined to comment.

Under the terms of the agreement, Olympus also agreed to forgive $2 million of the loan every year, starting January 2012, which would leave a balance of $22.8 million, including accrued interest, by the end of 2018.

The agreement also calls for the forgiveness of the entire loan balance and accrued interest if the acquired products achieve certain FDA approvals by 2015 or 2018.

Olympus Biotech in August expressed concerns about the value of the collateral it has from Viscogliosi Brothers, and Woodford said in his Sept. 23 memo he was told by Mori the company would need to write off the loan.
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/economy/business/AJ2011102715917

November 15, 2010 12:30 PM Eastern Daylight Time
Paradigm BioDevices Files Lawsuit Against Viscogliosi Bros, LLC, Viscogliosi & Co, LLC, Paradigm Spine, LLC, Centinel Spine, Inc., and Individually Anthony Viscogliosi and John Viscogliosi

Intends to aggressively pursue all parties involved in the transaction for payment of High Court award who are now in default

ROCKLAND, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Paradigm BioDevices, Inc. announced today that it filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court of Massachusetts against Viscogliosi Bros. LLC, Viscogliosi & Co, LLC, Paradigm Spine, LLC, Centinel Spine, Inc., and individually Anthony Viscogliosi and John Viscogliosi alleging successor liability, willful and tortious interference, unfair competition, deceptive and malicious business practices, fraud, and default of a U.K. High Court order to pay monetary damages.

“All companies and parties involved will be held fully-accountable for any misdeeds and wrongdoing.”

The U.S. lawsuit stems from a victory Paradigm BioDevices obtained in a U.K. lawsuit against Surgicraft Ltd. filed in 2008 following the abrupt termination of Paradigm BioDevices’ exclusive U.S. distribution rights of Surgicraft’s STALIF™ TT spinal fusion devices earlier that same year. Surgicraft Group Holdings, a U.K. based medical device company, and its subsidiaries were acquired in 2008 by Centinel Spine (formerly Raymedica, LLC) - a portfolio company of Viscogliosi Brothers, LLC based in New York City.

“All of the parties involved were and continue to be acutely aware of the financial obligations due Paradigm BioDevices in the event of the termination of our contract due to a ‘change of control’,” said Mike O’Neill, President and CEO of Paradigm BioDevices. “Instead of honoring those covenants, an elaborate scheme was initiated by Centinel Spine, its Directors and related interested parties to circumvent those obligations, breach our contract and defraud us of the rightful compensation due to us as ordered by the U.K. High Court earlier this year.”

In August 2010, Surgicraft Ltd. defaulted on an order of the U.K. High Court to pay Paradigm BioDevices significant interim damages as a result of earlier being granted favorable rectification of their contract dispute. A final damages hearing, which was not contested by the defendants, was held in the U.K. earlier this month.

“Paradigm BioDevices has a long history of delivering innovative products to the orthopedic marketplace via a strong ethical code of conduct, and we will continue to do so,” said O’Neill. “All companies and parties involved will be held fully-accountable for any misdeeds and wrongdoing.”