In an interview with industry magazine European Hospital, our Managing Partner Hans Maier discusses the challenges and disruptions in the diagnostic imaging industry. Hans Maier summarises the current industrial and competitive dynamics in imaging and shares his thoughts on how increasing competition, novel technologies and a changing radiology service provider landscape set the industry in motion.

Link to interview at European Hospital 

​We are excited to announce that Prof. Dr. Heinz-Otto Peitgen has joined our Advisory Board. Heinz-Otto Peitgen is Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at Bremen University and Florida Atlantic University where he served for more than three decades.

​A pioneer in the study of fractal geometry and chaos theory, Prof. Peitgen has been instrumental in the digital transformation of image based diagnostics and surgery. He is the founder of Fraunhofer MEVIS, Institute for Medical Image Computing, and co-founder of MeVis Medical Solutions AG, which was acquired by Varian Medical Systems Inc., Palo Alto, last year. It is great to have him on board as a sparring partner and thought leader in shaping medicine for the 21st century.

As of January 1st, 2016, BGM Associates Co-Founder Friedrich Gause became Managing Partner alongside Hans Maier. Friedrich Gause succeeds Gert Bruche who continues to serve the company in his role as a Partner.

Friedrich returns after a three-year period as interim COO of Piramal Imaging (PI), a molecular imaging startup. Following the spin-off of Bayer AG's molecular imaging assets into PI, Friedrich has driven the launch of PI's first PET tracer for the clinical evaluation of dementia & Alzheimer's disease and the buildup of the commercial organization and distribution network in the US, Europe and Asia/Pacific.

Profile of Friedrich Gause

Two years after BGM Associates accompanied the German flow cytometry specialist Partec GmbH in its sale to Symex Corporation of Japan the former owner family Göhde draws positive conclusions. The double digit sales growth in the first full year after the integration reflects the perfect strategic fit of the two companies, a major investment leads to the creation of a large number of jobs in Germany, and the integration process is well underway. The success of the transaction is based on Partec's excellent technology and products, an outstanding strategic and good cultural fit, and the well prepared and executed partner search and transaction process. A short report on the transaction is available in a Special of 'Transkript' on 'The Best Deals'. A German version of the report can be found here.

BGM Associates has advised the owner family of PARTEC, Germany’s leading flow cytometry specialist, in the search for a strategic partner and in the eventual company sale to Sysmex Corporation, Japan. With its global sales and service organization, Sysmex provides a platform for expanding Partec’s business into the large market segment of clinical flow cytometry testing. In addition, Partec’s expertise and technology in the field of flow cytometry are highly synergistic to Sysmex’ hematology business and will substantially strengthen Sysmex’ already leading position in the market.

Over the past ten years, a total of only 59 German companies have been taken over by Chinese companies. Given the relatively small number of acquisitions and the low average deal values to date, talk of a ‘sell-off’ of German industry to China is precipitate. The 16 acquisitions or significant investments realised in 2012 only represent around 1.3% of all acquisitions in Germany.
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These findings by Professor Gert Bruche and Professor Bernd Venohr are based on a BGM Associates study analysing takeovers of German firms by Chinese and Indian companies over the past ten years (2002-2012). Bruche and Venohr, two business school professors and management consultants, also interviewed a number of acquired companies to gain a greater insight into collaboration with Chinese or Indian acquirers.