Coeur Inc. agrees to purchase the Medical Products Division of VPI, LLC

Posted: 09-01-2004

Coeur Contact: Jay Cude
877.310.0287

September 1, 2004

Coeur Inc. announced today that it has agreed to purchase the Medical Products Division of VPI, LLC located at 3411 Behrens Parkway, Sheboygan, WI. Coeur, Inc. has recently opened new corporate headquarters outside of Nashville, TN.

Coeur manufactures and markets disposable products used in the medical imaging market for the delivery of contrast media. In addition to manufacturing and assembling its own proprietary line of products, the company offers a full complement of services that include engineering and design, injection molding, assembly, and final packaging of medical devices. Coeur also provides its customers with regulatory support and sterilization services. Manufacturing operations are located in Washington, NC.

The formal agreement between VPI and Coeur was signed on August 11, 2004. The transfer of ownership is expected to take place within the next 30 days. The Sheboygan facility will operate as a division of Coeur.

Jay Cude, President of Coeur, Inc., co-founded the company as PolyTen, LLC in 1998 and acquired Coeur Laboratories in 1999. Coeur had been supplying syringes to the medical imaging market since 1988. With support from Hammond, Kennedy, Whitney, a New York based private capital firm, Cude led a management buy-out of PolyTen, and formed Coeur, Inc. in May 2003. Cude, along with other key managers are equity investors in Coeur.

Cude said, “We are very excited about this business combination. Our combined capabilities will allow us to offer all of our customers a much broader range of products and services. In addition, it enhances our ability to develop new products for the medical imaging marketplace.”