SNOQUALMIE — Philips Domestic Appliances and Personal
Care (DAP), a division of Royal Philips Electronics, announced Tuesday it
has signed an agreement to acquire Optiva Corp., the Snoqualmie-based
manufacturer of the Sonicare sonic toothbrush. Terms of the acquisition were not yet disclosed.
With approximately 600 employees and annual sales of $175
million, Optiva is the leader in the U.S. power toothbrush market, largely due to
its unique technology and solid professional relations program.
“This agreement
demonstrates Philips DAP’s long-term commitment to personal health and oral care
and will make us No. 2 worldwide in the rapidly growing dental-appliance
market,” said Ad Veenhof, chief executive of Philips DAP. “One of the
primary reasons we chose Optiva is for the wealth of expertise among its
people, and we recognize that much of Sonicare’s success is due to its
ongoing commitment to the professional community.
“Philips shares that
commitment and will continue to make it the highest priority. In addition, the
acquisition will strengthen our presence in America, fitting Philips’ overall
strategy for the United States.”
“Sonicare can now more rapidly fulfill its potential to become the worldwide standard of personal
oral care,” said Optiva’s chief executive, David Giuliani. “Optiva’s revolution
ary new products will also be
strengthened by Philips’ electronics capabilities. The two ingredients for
Optiva’s success have been its talented people and its great products. This union
will allow both to perform on a larger scale and fulfill their potential.”
The Sonicare line is sold
through a broad set of distribution channels, including over 32,000 retail outlets,
as well as through dental professionals. Sonicare differs from
conventional power brushes by employing sonic technology. It cleans with a
combination of 31,000 brush strokes per minute and gentle sonic waves.
Philips DAP manufactures and markets electric shavers,
women’s beauty and dental-care products, as well as domestic appliances
around the world. With the acquisition of Optiva, Philips DAP builds on its
existing position in dental-care products under the Sensiflex range,
becoming the No. 2 global manufacturer.
Optiva Corporation was founded in 1988 and funded, in part, by
grants from the National Institutes of Health. The Sonicare sonic toothbrush
was introduced in 1992. Inc. magazine recognized Optiva in October 1997 as
that year’s fastest-growing, privately held company in the United States.
Royal Philips Electronics of
the Netherlands is one of the world’s biggest electronics companies
and Europe’s largest, with sales of 31.5 billion euros in 1999. It is a
global leader in color television sets, lighting, electric shavers, color
picture tubes for televisions and monitors and one-chip TV products. It has
232,433 employees in more than 60 countries.
