Swiss dental company Straumann to buy 49% in Brazil's Neodent for $277 mn

Swiss dental implants maker Straumann yesterday agreed to acquire a 49-per cent stake in leading Brazilian dental company Neodent, for 260 million Swiss francs (approximately Rs1,500 crore/ $277 million) in cash, in order to expand in Latin America's biggest market.

Cosmetic dental surgery is already widespread in Latin America, with around two million implants being sold in Brazil in 2012, making it the second-largest market after the US in terms of volume.

Straumann says it expects significant growth in Brazil in the coming years due to an ageing population and an expanding middle class. 

Founded in 1993 as JJGC Indústria e Comércio de Materiais Dentários S/A, Curitiba-based Neodent s a, is a privately held company specialising primarily in the design, development, and manufacture of dental implants and related prosthetic components.

The company has expanded rapidly over the past 10 years and today controls approximately a third of the Brazilian market.

Having grown at an average rate of approximately 20 per cent over the past three years, Neodent generated sales of $84 million in 2011.