Otto Bock acquires 100% of Neurostream Technologies

QUEBEC, June 16, 2011 /CNW Telbec/ - The Otto Bock group, a world leader in the prosthetics market, becomes today the sole owner of the Quebec-based company Neurostream Technologies. The redemption by Otto Bock of the minority interest that Victhom Human Bionics had in Neurostream Technologies will allow it to consolidate all neurostimulation activities worldwide and to capitalize on the state-of-the-art expertise developed locally.

Neurostream Technologies designs technologies and products that meet the needs of patients with neurological, neuromuscular, or movement disorders.  The Company is indeed completing the development of a neurostimulator that will allow individuals with "foot drop", an invalidating condition that often results from stroke, to walk more normally, which will considerably improve their quality of life.

For Otto Bock, which has invested $25 million in Neurostream Technologies since 2009, this transaction ensures the long-term stability and development of the Quebec-based company, as well as the preservation of over 50 highly specialized employees in the Quebec area. Besides, the latter area is an interesting gateway to the North American market, which is promising to Otto Bock. "Neurostimulation clearly is a further driver of growth for Otto Bock that opens a new technological field for us. We will now be able to consolidate all neurostimulation activities of the group and reach synergies in development, manufacturing, and sales and marketing with the other neurostimulation sites: Neurodan in Aalborg, Denmark and Otto Bock, Vienna, Austria," stated Mr. Johannes Schneider Littfeld, CEO Neurostimulation, Otto Bock.

Present in North America since 1958, Otto Bock employs more than 500 people in its Minneapolis, Toronto, and Quebec offices. The Company is on a steady growth course with its innovating technology that contributes to improve the quality of life of individuals around the world. The Company has been owner-managed ever since it was founded in 1919. With headquarters in Duderstadt, Germany, Otto Bock Healthcare has subsidiaries in 43 countries and has 4,500 employees around the world. The Company's sales reached €529 million in 2010.

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