Norfolk biotech company Embody has racked up a bevy of accomplishments since it was founded in 2014 with just two employees.
It has attracted millions of dollars in grant funding from the Department of Defense, and millions more from local and national stakeholders. Last April, the company announced plans to spend $5 million to expand its lab space by 10,000 feet and add 92 new jobs.
And now a bigger milestone can be added to the list: Embody’s sale to a major sports medicine company.
Zimmer Biomet, a Fortune 500 medical technology company based in Warsaw, Indiana, has signed a deal to acquire Embody for $155 million at closing and an additional $120 million subject to achieving other milestones over a three-year period.
Embody CEO Jeff Conroy said the move means Embody is well-positioned for significant growth.
“I think within five years, there’s a chance that Embody will be a $100 million revenue contributor to Zimmer,” Conroy said.
Embody manufactures products that are designed to help heal soft tissue injuries like ACL and rotator cuff tears. The company’s collagen implants help surgeons preserve remaining tissue, rather than removing and replacing it with a graft of similar tissue.
In an announcement, Zimmer Biomet Chairman, President and CEO Bryan Hanson said the acquisition would support the company’s focus and investment in high-growth markets and meaningful new advances in medicine.
“The planned acquisition of Embody is an important step in the ongoing transformation of ZB and the execution of our strategic priority to increase long-term growth and drive value creation,” he added.
Conroy said the planned acquisition could mean another 50-100 jobs in the next one to two years. Over the past eight months, he said Embody has added 55 new positions.
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