The number of foreign companies eyeing Turkey's medical equipment companies is increasing. Stryker Corp., one of the largest medical technology corporations in the world, is preparing to make its largest recent acquisition in Turkey. The U.S.-company is negotiating to acquire all the shares of its Turkish rival, Muka Metal, located in Kayseri. The company, which is based in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and produces in many fields, ranging from surgical equipment to navigation devices, will make its first investment in Turkey by acquiring Muka Metal. Established in 1966, Muka Metal also produces in other fields, ranging from office furniture to household electrical appliances.
Muka Metal, which started to produce electric hospital beds in 2004 thanks to its research and development (R&D), also produces stretchers, patient handling equipment and hospital furniture. Having three R&D centers in total in the Kayseri Organized Industrial Site, Free Zone and Erciyes Teknopark, the company's production area is over 50,000-square meters. The company also developed the first wireless nurse calling system. Muka Metal, which is among the top companies in the world in its field, exports to 60 countries in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Latin America and Europe.
Established by American doctor and inventor Homer Stryker in 1946, Stryker Corp. is 300th on the Fortune 500, which lists the largest companies in the world. Stryker shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange and closed last year with a $9.7 billion turnover. The number of employees of the company, which announced a $1.1 billion net profit in 2014, is more than 26,000. Some of the acquisitions Stryker has made include Howmedical from Pfizer for $1.65 billion in 1998, Surgical Dynimacis for $135 million in 2002, Spincore for $120 million in 2004, Mako Surgical Corp for $1.6 billion in 2013 and Pivot Medical for $172 million last year.
