The heterogeneity necessitates that companies contemplating acquisitions think very carefully about the strategic fit from multiple perspectives.

For decades, the medtech industry has been seeking to capitalize on the value of data with limited success, but with improving data capture and the use of AI, the promise is turning into reality.

The ‘Borna M&A Framework’ (BMAF) compares acquisition strategy and execution to a management team holding a gun with two bullets. Each acquisition uses up a bullet. If the bullet is well utilized management gets another bullet.

The first time I test-drove Intuitive Surgical’s robot was during the bake off for the IPO. The technology was amazing, and I could throw sutures with ease. The company had a few dozen systems installed and a respectable backlog, but I remained skeptical as it was targeting cardiac surgery, which several struggling public companies were unsuccessfully trying to revolutionize.