Coloplast buys fish skin woundcare firm for up to $1.3 billion

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Coloplast has agreed to buy Iceland-based Kerecis, a biologic wound care firm that uses fish skin to develop tissue-transplant products, for up to $1.3 billion, the Danish medical equipment maker said on Friday.

Coloplast said it would finance the deal by raising equity. Its shares were down 4.8% at 0734 GMT.

"Kerecis represents an attractive opportunity to strategically strengthen Coloplast's presence in the advanced wound care market by entering the high-growth, U.S.-centric biologics segment," the Danish firm said in a statement.

Coloplast said it expected the acquisition to be marginally dilutive to earnings in the short term but increasingly accretive from 2026-2027 onwards.

As a result of the deal, Coloplast raised its long-term organic growth guidance to 8-10% from 7-9% previously, it said.

Kerecis has developed and patented a technology platform based on intact fish skin from wild Atlantic cod, which is being used to treat burns and other complex acute and chronic wounds including diabetic, venous, trauma, and surgical wounds.

(Reporting by Louise Breusch RasmussenEditing by Anna Ringstrom and Mark Potter)