AG Ellison and AG Raoul announced that they have joined the Federal Trade Commission’s lawsuit to block the acquisition of Minnesota-based Surmodics, Inc. by private-equity firm GTCR BC Holdings, LLC. The complaint alleges that the deal, which seeks to combine the two largest manufacturers of critical medical-device coatings, is anticompetitive.

“Fair competition on a level playing field is essential to keeping our economy healthy — and fair competition in the medical-device sector is essential to keeping people healthy. Minnesota’s medical-device sector leads the nation, and medical-device makers here and across the country need high-quality, reliable coatings in order to design and produce devices that save countless lives in Minnesota and every state. This merger threatens to harm patients and companies across the medical-device industry by disrupting competition, particularly in Minnesota, which leads to higher prices, less innovation, and greater risk. Today, my office is putting Minnesota’s patients and medical-device manufacturers and innovators first by suing to stop this unlawful acquisition.”- AG Ellison