Medtronic plc is an
American
medical device
A medical device is any device intended to be used for medical purposes. Significant potential for hazards are inherent when using a device for medical purposes and thus medical devices must be proved safe and effective with reasonable assura ...
company. The company's operational and executive headquarters are in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and its legal headquarters are in Ireland due to its acquisition of Irish-based Covidien in 2015.
While it primarily operates in the United States,
it operates in more than 150 countries and employs over 90,000 people. It develops and manufactures healthcare technologies and therapies.
History
![Medtronic OHQ Fridley MN 2017](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Medtronic_OHQ_Fridley_MN_2017.jpg)
Medtronic was founded in 1949 in
Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
by
Earl Bakken
Earl Elmer Bakken (January 10, 1924 – October 21, 2018) was an American engineer, businessman and philanthropist of Dutch and Norwegian American ancestry. He founded Medtronic, where he developed the first external, battery-operated, trans ...
and his brother-in-law, Palmer Hermundslie, as a medical equipment repair shop. Bakken invented several medical technology devices that continue to be used around the world today.
Through his repair business, Bakken came to know
C. Walton Lillehei, a doctor of
heart surgery
Cardiac surgery, or cardiovascular surgery, is surgery on the heart or great vessels performed by cardiac surgeons. It is often used to treat complications of ischemic heart disease (for example, with coronary artery bypass grafting); to corr ...
at the
University of Minnesota Medical School
The University of Minnesota Medical School is the medical school of the University of Minnesota. It is a combination of two campuses situated in Minneapolis and Duluth, Minnesota.
The University of Minnesota Medical School is also part of one of ...
. The deficiencies of the
artificial pacemaker
An artificial cardiac pacemaker (or artificial pacemaker, so as not to be confused with the natural cardiac pacemaker) or pacemaker is a medical device that generates electrical impulses delivered by electrodes to the chambers of the heart eit ...
s of the day were made painfully obvious following a
power outage
A power outage (also called a powercut, a power out, a power failure, a power blackout, a power loss, or a blackout) is the loss of the electrical power network supply to an end user.
There are many causes of power failures in an electricity ...
over
Halloween in 1957, which affected large sections of
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
and western
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
. A pacemaker-dependent
paediatric
Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...
patient of Lillehei died because of the blackout. The next day, Lillehei spoke with Bakken about developing some form of
battery
Battery most often refers to:
* Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power
* Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact
Battery may also refer to:
Energy source
*Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...
-powered pacemaker. Bakken modified the design for a
transistor
upright=1.4, gate (G), body (B), source (S) and drain (D) terminals. The gate is separated from the body by an insulating layer (pink).
A transistor is a semiconductor device used to Electronic amplifier, amplify or electronic switch, switch ...
ized
metronome
A metronome, from ancient Greek μέτρον (''métron'', "measure") and νομός (nomós, "custom", "melody") is a device that produces an audible click or other sound at a regular interval that can be set by the user, typically in beats pe ...
and created the first battery-powered external pacemaker. It fit in a four-inch-square box that could be taped to a patient’s chest, transmitted electric signals to the heart through wires that passed through the patient’s chest, and could be removed without surgery.
![2012-0907-OldMedtronicHQ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/2012-0907-OldMedtronicHQ.jpg)
The company expanded through the 1950s, selling equipment built by other companies but also developing custom-made devices. Bakken built a small pacemaker that could be strapped to the body and powered by batteries. Work in the new field later produced an
implantable pacemaker in 1960. The company built headquarters in the Minneapolis suburb of
St. Anthony, Minnesota, in 1960
[Sam Black]
Old Medtronic headquarters is sold to Islamic group
''Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal'', 6 September 2012, accessed 14 March 2013. and the company moved to Fridley in the 1970s. Medtronic's main competitors in the cardiac rhythm field include
Boston Scientific
Boston Scientific Corporation ("BSC"), incorporated in Delaware, is a biomedical/biotechnology engineering firm and multinational manufacturer of medical devices used in interventional medical specialties, including interventional radiology, i ...
and
St. Jude Medical.
In 1997, Medtronic opened a production site for implantable pacemakers and brain pacemakers in
Tolochenaz
Tolochenaz is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Vaud, located in the district of Morges.
Geography
Tolochenaz has an area, , of . Of this area, or 34.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 6.9% is forested. Of the rest of the land ...
, Switzerland. One in five pacemakers implanted globally today are made here. The site is also used as a european training centre for doctors. In 1998, Medtronic acquired
Physio-Control
Physio-Control Corporation was founded in 1955 by Dr. Karl William Edmark as a pioneering company in the field of portable defibrillation. Physio-Control manufactures emergency defibrillation and automated CPR equipment. The company was most ...
for $538 million.
In 2014,
Integra LifeSciences
Integra LifeSciences is a global medical device manufacturing company headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1989, the company manufactures products for skin regeneration, neurosurgery, reconstructive and general surgery. Integra art ...
announced it was acquiring instrumentation lines from Medtronic for $60 million. The deal included Medtronic’s MicroFrance and Xomed manual ENT and laparoscopic surgical instruments, as well as a manufacturing facility in France.
In February 2016, the company announced that it would acquire Bellco from
private equity
In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a t ...
firm Charme Capital Partners. In June, the company announced its acquisition of HeartWare International Inc. for $1.1 billion. In December 2017, Medtronic acquired Crospon in €38 million ($45 million). In September 2018, the company acquired
Mazor Robotics
Mazor Robotics ( he, מזור רובוטיקה, ''Mazor Robotika'') was an Israeli medical device company and manufacturer of a robotic guidance system for spine surgery that was acquired by Medtronic in December 2018. Surgeons that utilized Mazo ...
for $1.64 billion ($58.50 per American Depository Share or $29.25 per ordinary share. In late November, Medtronic acquired Nutrino Health Ltd boosting the companies nutrition-related data services and analytics.
In May 2019, Medtronic announced it would acquire Titan Spine, a technology company focusing on titanium spine implants.
Chief Executive Officer Omar Ishrak retired in April 2020 and stayed on as executive chairman and chairman of the board until December 2020.
Ishrak was succeeded by senior executive Geoff Martha.
In January 2020, the company announced its intention to acquire Stimgenics, LLC and their primary therapy: differential target, multiplexed, spinal cord stimulation. In July, the company announced it would acquire
Medicrea for €7.00 per share. In August, Medtronic announced it would acquire Companion Medical, who manufacture a smart insulin pen system, which connects to a diabetes management app. In September Medtronic acquired
Avenu Medical for an undisclosed sum.
In February 2021, the company recalled its HeartWare Ventricular Assist Device. In June 2021, the controller ports were pulled from the market. On June 3, 2021, the
FDA
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...
alerted physicians to stop new implants of the HVAD system due to "an increased risk of neurological adverse events and mortality associated with the internal pump."
In January 2022, the business announced it would acquire Affera, Inc. In March, Medtronic announced a contract with Vizient, a healthcare performance improvement company, to add Medtronic's Touch Surgery Enterprise platform to Vizient's healthcare offerings.
Touch Surgery works with laparoscopic and robotic scopes and is an AI-powered video management and analytics platform for the operating room.
In May, Medtronic and DaVita Inc. announced plans to form a new, independent kidney care-focused medical device company.
Medtronic’s Renal Care Solutions business will be part of the new company.
In April 2022, the company announced that it would work with GE Healthcare to support the needs and care demands at Ambulatory Surgery Centers. In July, Medtronic announced a strategic partnership with CathWorks, a coronary artery disease (CAD) technology developer.
A separate agreement gave Medtronic the option to acquire CathWorks in the future.
In October, 2022, the company announced its intention to pursue a separation of the company's combined Patient Monitoring and Respiratory Interventions businesses, which are part of the company's Medical Surgical Portfolio.
Acquisition history
*Medtronic
**Medtronic plc
***Medtronic Inc.
(Founded 1949)
****Ardian Inc
(Acq 2010)
****Osteotech Inc
(Acq 2010)
****ATS Medical
(Acq 2010)
****Krauth Cardiovascular
(Acq 2010)
****Fogazzi
(Acq 2010)
****Invatec
(Acq 2010)
****PEAK Surgical, Inc<
(Acq 2011)
****Salient Surgical Technologies Inc
(Acq 2011)
****China Kanghui Holdings
(Acq 2012)
****NGC Medical
(Acq 2014)
****Sapiens Steering Brain Stimulation
(Acq 2014)
****TYRX Inc
(Acq 2014)
***
Covidien (Formed 2007 from Tyco International
Tyco International plc was a security systems company incorporated in the Republic of Ireland, with operational headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey, United States (Tyco International (US) Inc.). Tyco International was composed of two major b ...
healthcare business spin off)
****Sapheon Inc
(Acq 2014)
****Reverse Medical Corporation
(Acq 2014)
****Given Imaging
(Acq 2014)
****Aspect Medical Systems
****Somanetics Corp
(Acq 2010)
****ev3 Inc
(Acq 2010)
****CV Ingenuity
(Acq 2012)
****BÂRRX
(Acq 2012)
****Newport Medical Instruments
(Acq 2012)
****superDimension
(Acq 2012)
****Oridion Systems
(Acq 2012)
****VNUS Medical Technologies
**Advanced Uro-Solutions
(Acq 2015)
**Diabeter
(Acq 2015)
**CardioInsight Technologies
(Acq 2015)
**Aptus Endosystems
(Acq 2015)
**RF Surgical Systems
(Acq 2015)
**Medina Medical
(Acq 2015)
**Lazarus Effect
(Acq 2015)
**Bellco
(Acq 2016)
**HeartWare International Inc
(Acq 2016)
**Crospon
(Acq 2017)
**Mazor Robotics
(Acq 2018)
**Nutrino Health Ltd
(Acq 2018)
**Titan Spine
(Acq 2019)
**Klue
(Acq 2019)
**Stimgenics, LLC
(Acq 2020)
**Medicrea
(Acq 2020)
**Companion Medical
(Acq 2020)
**Avenu Medical
(Acq 2020)
**
Intersect ENT (Acq 2022)
**Digital Surgery
(Acq 2020)
**Affera, Inc.
(Acq 2022)
Global rankings
In May 2018, Medtronic was ranked as the world's largest medical device company by 2017 revenues (see table below).
In March 2017, Bloomberg's database of U.S. tax inversions listed Medtronic and Wright Medical Group (Medtronic's 2015 inversion to Ireland was over $100 billion, while Wright's 2015 inversion to the Netherlands was $3.3 billion), as the only U.S. tax inversions of a U.S. medical device company in history.
In February 2018, the ''
Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' listed Medtronic's 2015 tax inversion to Ireland as the largest U.S. corporate tax inversion executed between 2013 and 2016.
In May 2018, Medtronic was ranked as the largest corporate tax inversion in history.
Business units and subsidiaries
Medtronic has four main business units: the Minimally Invasive Therapies Group, the Diabetes Group, the Restorative Therapies Group, and the Cardiac and Vascular Group. Medtronic develops and manufactures devices and therapies to treat more than 30 chronic diseases, including
heart failure,
Parkinson disease Parkinson may refer to:
*Parkinson (surname)
* ''Parkinson'' (TV series), British chat show, presented by Sir Michael Parkinson
*Parkinson, Queensland, suburb of Brisbane, Australia
*The Parkinsons (fl. early 20th century), American father-and-son ...
,
urinary incontinence
Urinary incontinence (UI), also known as involuntary urination, is any uncontrolled leakage of urine. It is a common and distressing problem, which may have a large impact on quality of life. It has been identified as an important issue in geri ...
,
Down syndrome
Down syndrome or Down's syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is usually associated with physical growth delays, mild to moderate intellectual dis ...
,
obesity
Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's ...
,
chronic pain
Chronic pain is classified as pain that lasts longer than three to six months. In medicine, the distinction between acute and chronic pain is sometimes determined by the amount of time since onset. Two commonly used markers are pain that continue ...
, spinal disorders and
diabetes
Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...
.
CRDM
Cardiac rhythm disease management (CRDM) is the oldest and largest of Medtronic's business units. Its work in heart rhythm therapies dates back to 1957 when Bakken developed the first wearable heart pacemaker to treat abnormally slow heart rates. Since then, it has expanded its expertise in electrical stimulation to treat other cardiac rhythm diseases. It has also made an effort to address overall disease management by adding diagnostic and monitoring capabilities to many of its devices. An independently-operating Dutch pacemaker manufacturer,
Vitatron
Medtronic plc is an American medical device company. The company's operational and executive headquarters are in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and its legal headquarters are in Ireland due to its acquisition of Irish-based Covidien in 2015. While it ...
, acquired by Medtronic in 1986, is now a European subsidiary of the unit. Medtronic and Vitatron pacemakers are interrogated and programmed by Medtronic Carelink Model 2090 Programmer for Medtronic and Vitatron Devices; they use separate interfaces.
In 2007, Medtronic recalled its Sprint Fidelis product, the flexible wires, or leads, which connect a defibrillator to the interior of the heart. The leads were found to be failing at an unacceptable rate, resulting in unnecessary shocks or no shocks when needed; either can be lethal. The scope of the problem continues to be a matter of research. Studies since the recall, disputed by Medtronic, suggest that the failure rate of already-implanted Sprint Fidelis leads is increasing exponentially. Medtronic's liability is limited by various court decisions.
Spinal and biologics
Spinal and biologics is Medtronic's second-largest business. Medtronic is the world leader in spinal and musculoskeletal therapies. In 2007, Medtronic purchased Kyphon, a manufacturer and seller of spinal implants that are necessary for procedures like
kyphoplasty
Vertebral augmentation, including vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty, refers to similar percutaneous spinal procedures in which bone cement is injected through a small hole in the skin into a fractured vertebra in order to relieve back pain caused ...
.
In May 2008, Medtronic Spine agreed to pay the
US government
The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a feder ...
$75 million to settle a
qui tam
In common law, a writ of ''qui tam'' is a writ through which private individuals who assist a prosecution can receive for themselves all or part of the damages or financial penalties recovered by the government as a result of the prosecution. Its ...
lawsuit after a
whistleblower
A whistleblower (also written as whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whi ...
alleged that Medtronic committed Medicare fraud. The company was charged with illegally convincing healthcare providers to offer kyphoplasty, a spinal fracture repair surgery, as an inpatient, not an outpatient, procedure to make thousands of dollars more in profits per surgery.
A "special report" by writer
Steven Brill in ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'' showed that according to Medtronic's quarterly
SEC filing
The SEC filing is a financial statement or other formal document submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Public companies, certain insiders, and broker-dealers are required to make regular SEC filings. Investors and financ ...
of October 2012, the company had, on average, a 75.1% profit margin on its spine products and therapies.
Cardiovascular
Medtronic's
cardiovascular
The blood circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the entire body of a human or other vertebrate. It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, tha ...
therapies span the major specialties of interventional cardiology, cardiac surgery, and vascular surgery. The products are used to reduce the potentially debilitating effects of coronary, aortic, and structural heart disease.
Neuromodulation
Neuromodulation is the second-oldest and third-largest department of Medtronic. Its products include
neurostimulation
Neurostimulation is the purposeful modulation of the nervous system's activity using invasive (e.g. microelectrodes) or non-invasive means (e.g. transcranial magnetic stimulation or transcranial electric stimulation, tES, such as tDCS or trans ...
systems and implantable drug delivery systems for chronic pain, common movement disorders, and urologic and gastrointestinal disorders. The department's revenues in 2014 amounted to $1.9 billion, or 11% of Medtronic's total revenues.
Diabetes
The
diabetes
Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...
management manufacturing and sales division of Medtronic is based on the perimeter of the
California State University, Northridge campus in
Northridge, California
Northridge is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of the Los Angeles, California, City of Los Angeles. The community is home to California State University, Northridge, and the Northridge Fashion Center.
Originally named List_of_mino ...
. The original company, Minimed Technologies, was founded in the early 1980s by
Alfred E. Mann and spun off from
Pacesetter Systems to design an
insulin pump
An insulin pump is a medical device used for the administration of insulin in the treatment of diabetes mellitus, also known as continuous subcutaneous insulin therapy.
The device configuration may vary depending on design. A traditional pump ...
. MiniMed 500 was one of the first light weight insulin pumps on the market, and it helped bring insulin pump usage to the mainstream market.
In 1996, the MiniMed was redesigned to make it more appealing to consumers. The new design was met by boosted adoption rate, and sales increased by 357%. In the early 2000s, Medtronic purchased Minimed, to form Medtronic Minimed.
On 11 May 2009, Medtronic announced it had chosen
San Antonio, Texas
("Cradle of Freedom")
, image_map =
, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, subdivision_t ...
, for the location of its new Diabetes Therapy Management and Education Center. The company announced that it expected 1400 new jobs would be created to staff the facility.
In September 2016, the
FDA
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...
approved a device, MiniMed 670G, which automatically pumps insulin to a diabetic patient's body on sensing its absence or reduction.
Surgical technologies
The surgical technologies business group designed and manufactured products for the diagnosis and treatment of ear, nose, and throat (ENT) diseases and cranial, spinal, and neurologic conditions. It also encompassed a surgical navigation division to design "StealthStation" systems, software, and instruments for
computer assisted surgery (CAS) and a special intraoperative X-ray imaging system (3D fluoroscopy), known as the O-arm Imaging System. Many of the products are used for minimally-invasive surgical procedures. In 2016, the business unit was dissolved, and each site folded into new business groups.
Renal Care Solutions
The Renal Care Solutions business group designed and manufactured products for the diagnosis and treatment related to Renal organs like Kidney.
Technology safety
In 2011, an independent security researcher, Jay Radcliffe, revealed a security vulnerability in a Medtronic insulin pump at the Computer Security conference
Black Hat Briefings
Black Hat Briefings (commonly referred to as Black Hat) is a computer security conference that provides security consulting, training, and briefings to hackers, corporations, and government agencies around the world. Black Hat brings together ...
, allowing an attacker to take control of the pump. Medtronic responded by assuring users of the full safety of its devices.
In 2008, a team of computer security researchers was able to take remote control of a Medtronic cardiac implant. The team, using an unused implant in a lab, was able to control the electrical shocks delivered by the defibrillator component and even glean patient data from the device.
In February 2020, Medtronic recalled around 322,000 MiniMed insulin pumps with faulty pump retainer rings, which had been correlated to death and around 2,000 injuries.
Portable ventilators
On 30 March 2020, Medtronic shared its portable
ventilator
A ventilator is a piece of medical technology that provides mechanical ventilation by moving breathable air into and out of the lungs, to deliver breaths to a patient who is physically unable to breathe, or breathing insufficiently. Ventilators ...
design specifications during the outbreak of
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, in order to accelerate global ventilator production.
Subsidiaries
Vitatron
Vitatron is a
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
-based European subsidiary of Medtronic. It is focused on development and manufacturing of
cardiac pacing technology. Once an independently operating Dutch medical company, it was acquired by Medtronic in 1986.
Vitatron pacemakers are interrogated and programmed by Medtronic Carelink Model 2090 Programmer for Medtronic and Vitatron Devices, using a separate interface.
=History of Vitatron
=
* 1956: Vitatron founded
* 1962: First Implantable pacemakers
* 1981: Microprocessor-driven, software-based pacemaker (DPG1)
* 1982: Rate Responsive pacemaker (TX1)
* 1984: Quintech DDD with automatic upper rate behavior ("mode switch")
* 1988: Daily Learn algorithm (Rhythmyx)
* 1997: First upgradeable pacemaker system with dedicated AF diagnostics, rate and rhythm control therapy.
* 2003: Vitatron goes digital: 1st Vitatron C-Series, the world's first fully digital pacemaker.
* 2004: 2nd Vitatron C-Series, digital, fast pacemaker.
* 2004: Vitatron T-Series: The full picture, digital pacemaker system.
* 2005: Vitatron C-Series, A3 models, a new top line range of digital pacemakers for bradycardic patients.
Public-private engagement
Activism
Medtronic is a corporate partner of
Human Rights Campaign, a large
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term ...
advocacy organization.
Criticism
Animal rights
In 2005, 2008, and 2010
PETA threatened to submit a
shareholder resolution
With respect to public companies in the United States, a shareholder resolution is a proposal submitted by shareholders for a vote at the company's annual meeting. Typically, resolutions are opposed by the corporation's management, hence the insis ...
to improve
animal welfare standards in the company. In 2005, PETA attempted to stop five specific animal experiments that it deemed "crude and cruel". In 2008, PETA protested the outsourcing of animal testing to countries with lax animal welfare laws, such as
China. In 2010, PETA attempted to stop Medtronic's reported use of live animals in testing and training. In response, Medtronic conducted a feasibility study that found that banning the use of live animals was impractical. Medtronic continues to use live animals for testing and training but has said that it will look for alternatives in the future. In each case, PETA withdrew its shareholder resolution after talks with Medtronic's leadership.
Tax inversion to Ireland
![Medtronic plc Headquarters Ireland](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Medtronic_plc_Headquarters_Ireland.jpg)
In June 2014, Medtronic announced it would execute a
tax inversion to
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
by acquiring Irish-based
Covidien plc
Covidien was an Irish-headquartered global health care products company and manufacturer of medical devices and supplies. Covidien became an independent publicly traded company after being spun off from Tyco International in 2007. It was purcha ...
(a previous U.S. tax inversion to Ireland in 2007), for $42.9 billion in cash and stock.
The tax inversion enabled Medtronic to move its legal headquarters to Ireland, while maintaining its operational and executive headquarters in the U.S., thus allowing it to avoid taxation on more than $14 billion held overseas, and avail of Ireland's beneficial
low corporation tax regime.
Medtronic's tax inversion is the largest tax inversion in history,
and given the changes in the U.S. tax-code in 2016 to block the Pfizer-Allergan Irish tax inversion, is likely to remain the largest.
Medtronic CEO Omar Ishrak defended the tax inversion in a 2015 interview to the ''
Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...
'' saying, "We just followed the rules and the deal was done based on strategic merits".
Ireland is less than 0.1% of Medtronic (or Covidien) sales, and the majority of Medtronic's sales, and an even greater percentage of Medtronic profits (due to the higher margins on U.S. medical devices), are from the U.S. healthcare system.
In 2016, the ''
Star Tribune'' reported that Medtronic was still winning U.S. Federal contracts and attending U.S. trade-missions as a U.S. company.
In terms of scale, on 23 November 2018, Ireland's largest stockbrokers, ''
Davy Stockbrokers
Davy Group is Ireland's largest stockbroker, wealth manager, asset manager and financial advisor and has offices in Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Galway and London. Davy offers services to private clients, small businesses, corporations and institution ...
'' reported that the total capitalization of the Irish stock market was €104 billion (this does not include Medtronic, which Davy do not consider an Irish company). In contrast, on the same day Medtronic's capitalization was listed on Bloomberg at just over $130 billion (or €115 billion).
Medtronic's acquisition of Covidien plc made Medtronic the world's largest medical device company by revenues.
Response to 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
During the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. ...
, Medtronic refused to join the international community and withdraw from the Russian market. Research from
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
updated on April 28, 2022 identifying how companies were reacting to Russia's invasion identified Medtronic in the worst category of "Digging In", meaning Defying Demands for Exit: companies defying demands for exit/reduction of activities.
See also
*
Corporate tax inversions to Ireland
*
Ireland as a tax haven
Ireland has been labelled as a tax haven or corporate tax haven in multiple financial reports, an allegation which the state has rejected in response. Ireland is on all academic " tax haven lists", including the , and tax NGOs. Ireland does no ...
*
Steris, US medical device tax inversion to UK and Ireland
References
External links
*
{{authority control
Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange
Health care companies of Ireland
Health care companies established in 1949
Private providers of NHS services
Manufacturing companies based in Dublin (city)
Tax inversions
1949 establishments in Minnesota
Medical device manufacturers
American brands