Abbott Laboratories is due to buy Advanced Medical Optics (AMO) for $1.4 billion. AMO specialises in optical equipment such as Lasik surgery devices and cataract correction hardware.
The deal, set to take place in the next two weeks, will help Abbott to increase their portfolio and presence in the US medical market. Abbott specialise in a number medical fields, including pharmaceutical and surgery based endeavours.
Advanced Medical Optics has been struggling to make ends meet, even though demand for specialist surgeries, such as Lasik surgery, is on the rise. Abbott has agreed to take on the debt and pay the additional costs making the total value of buyout $2.8 billion.
Abbott will become a significant competitor in the eye care market once the acquisition is completed. With the constantly increasing want for laser eye surgery to correct vision problems, Abbott is sure the deal is a good one for both parties.
Lasik surgery has become more and more popular, as celebrities and sportspeople worldwide have been endorsing the practice. It is being touted as cost-effective in the long term and hassle-free. With the surgery itself lasting an average of 10-15 minutes per eye. Due to technological advances in the field, the success rate has increased dramatically in recent years.
(Source: Finanacial Times Online)
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The Caterer and Hotelkeeper Equipment & Supplies Excellence Awards 2009 have taken place in sponsorship with 3663 Catering Equipment. These awards recognise the latest advancements in catering equipment in terms of hygiene, safety, functionality, usability and several other key areas.
Whether a company provides catering equipment in Yorkshire or Surrey, catering businesses always want to have the best equipment available to them.
The Caterer and Hotelkeeper Equipment & Supplies Excellence Awards are designed to help distinguish the best amongst the crowd of products. The awards are split into various categories depending on the type of equipment and the purpose. Below is a list of the areas with the winning devices:
Beverage Making and Dispense
Cybercino (Fracino)
COMBI-OVENS, STEAMERS AND MICROWAVES
Convotherm OES 6.06 Mobile (Enodis UK Foodservice)
CROCKERY, CUTLERY AND GLASSWARE
Alchemy Counterwave (Churchill China)
FOOD DISPLAY AND BAR INSTALLATIONS
Hybrid Kitchen (BGL Rieber)
FOOD PREPARATION EQUIPMENT
Clifton Food Range FL28D (Nickel-Electro)
GREEN AWARD
Premium Cellar Cooling System with Econ-O-Mate (Hubbard Products)
HYGIENE AND WASTE MANAGEMENT
Sani-Floor (Mechline Developments)
REFRIGERATION
Eco Pro (Foster Refrigerator)
WAREWASHING
AUPR (Hobart UK)
Every year there is an impressive line-up of technological innovations as the manufacturers compete to design the most advanced equipment in the field of catering.
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Despite all the negative press and doom-mongering, there is a bit of news of companies actually aiming to improve during 2009.
LG Electronics Inc has set itself some quite high targets for 2009. The company stated they want to improve sales of air conditioning units by an extra 10 percent this year, compared to last year.
Currently Carrier Corp is the United States biggest air conditioner seller and Daikin is the top air con seller in Japan. However, LG, which is currently the number one global provider of residential air conditioning devices, hopes to topple Carrier Corp. and Daikin from their respective top spots.
LG Electronics Inc. are successful in many areas of electronics, including audio/visual equipment, domestic appliances and computing. They hope to continually expand their portfolio of being a top brand in all reas of their business.
LG have set themselves a target date of 2012, by which time they hope to have beaten out their rivals Daikin and Carrier Corp. More present targets include a target revenue of $5.5 billion for 2009, up from $5 billion in 2008.
Hopefully, LG Electronics Inc. have allowed themselves some leighway in regards to the continuing economic downturn that is currently affecting much of the global market.
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Allied Carpets, second biggest floor-covering retailer in the UK, has opened dialogue with restructuring specialist Hilco over the sale of its loss making chain.
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