Zeiss Meditec buys Dutch firm for nearly 1 billion euros

BERLIN (Reuters) – German medical technology firm Carl Zeiss Meditec said on Friday it had bought the Dutch Ophthalmic Research Center, a developer of devices for eye surgery, for nearly 1 billion euros ($1.09 billion).

Carl Zeiss Meditec, a subsidiary of the Zeiss Group which is known for its camera lenses, said the acquisition would further strengthen its position as the fastest growing manufacturer of ophthalmic medical devices globally.

The DORC’s products are used by ophthalmic surgeons around the world to treat a wide range of vision-threatening conditions, it said.

Zeiss bought DORC for 985 mln euros, nearly five times the Dutch firm’s expected turnover this year of some 200 million euros.

($1 = 0.9181 euro)

(Reporting by Alexander Huebner; Writing by Sarah Marsh; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)