Conshohocken-based CardioNet to reorganize corporate structure, become BioTelemetry, Inc



Tom Paine



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Conshohocken-based CardioNet, a pioneer in telemetry-based cardiac monitoring, announced a proposed major corporate reorganization along with its quarterly earnings announcement on Monday. Pending shareholder approval, it will adopt a holding company structure and change its corporate name to BioTelemetry, Inc. CardioNet and acquisitons Cardiocore and Braemar will become operating subsidiaries of BioTelemetry. BioTelemetry will continue to trade on the NASDAQ under the symbol "BEAT".

CardioNet CEO and President Joseph H. Capper said in a statement: “Qur strategy is to achieve sustained long-term growth by solidifying our leadership position in remote cardiac monitoring; building a leading research services business; and identifying markets that would benefit from the application of our wireless platform and proprietary technology. As a result, we recently launched a more comprehensive sales approach in our patient services business and acquired Cardiocore in order to expand our research services capabilities. Simultaneously, we have built an operational infrastructure capable of sustained growth in several areas of the developing mobile health services market. Consequently, we expect to derive economic and functional benefits through the alignment of our adjacent businesses, each with distinct brand equity, under this holding company structure."

Although Capper was not very specific during the earnings conference call (free registration required for transcript) in identifying the markets BioTelemetry might expand into under its new structure, the implication is that it plans to move beyond cardiac monitoring into other areas of remote health monitoring, as well as expanding research applications for the patient data it collects. In this sense, it is possible CardioNet's strategy may begin to look more like that of Sotera Wireless, a California-based venture that Safeguard Scientifics took a 7.7% stake in earlier this year as I wrote about here.

Dr. Eric Topol, the cardiologist and leading wireless healthcare technology pioneer who is now Chief Academic Officer of Scripps Health and serves on Sotera Wireless' board, was the first physician to serve on CardioNet's Medical Advisory Board in 1999, although to the best of my knowledge he no longer has a connection to CardioNet.

CardioNet, which did an IPO in 2008 and moved to Conshohocken from San Diego, has since suffered due to reimbursement rate cuts by payers and questions by some about the value of its services. It has since recovered somewhat and is showing revenue growth again, although its still losing money. BEAT closed today at $2.76, well down from its 2008 post-IPO high of $34.50.




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Recyclebank exits UK market, disposing of unit



Tom Paine



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Recently, I raised the issue of the long-term viability of Recyclebank's business model, noting the ongoing tendency of numerous communities that had participated in the program to discontinue it, frequently citing low participation rates in the rewards program and ongoing costs.

Now comes word that Recyclebank has exited the UK market, selling its Recyclebank UK unit to Greenredeem, a subsidiary of Grundon Waste Management Ltd. The UK website letsrecycle.com says it is not clear whether Greenredeem paid a financial consideration to Recyclebank for the UK unit or received it for free, noting "questions have been asked in the past about the precise impact of rewards schemes on recycling and whether results had been influenced by a change in collection systems and approach rather than by offering rewards." Recyclebank has 250,000 members in the UK, according to Greenredeeem.

Recyclebank was founded in Philadelphia before moving its headquarters to New York. It still has some operations based in Philly, and the city of Philadelphia is among its customers.



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Daily Links 4/25/2013: Verizon said to be preparing bid to buyout Vodafone's Verizon Wireless stake





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Verizon eyes $100 billion bid for Vodafone's Wireless stake (Reuters)

Safeguard Scientifics Announces First Quarter 2013 Financial Results
Capital deployments in Pneuron and Sotera Wireless bring partner company roster to 20

(Business Wire)

QlikTech Announces First Quarter 2013 Financial Results
Total revenue of $96.5 million increases 22% compared to first quarter of 2012
(QlikTech Press Release)

InterDigital Announces First Quarter 2013 Financial Results (Globe Newswire)

Mixed Q1 For Time Warner Cable
OIBDA Growth In Line, But Video Sub Losses Rise
(Multichannel News)

Arris Sees Video Gateway Market Start to Open Up (Multichannel News)

GE Puts $105M Into Pivotal, The New EMC And VMware Platform Initiative, But Here’s What It Is Missing (TechCrunch)

AWeber Announces New Headquarters in Chalfont, Pa.
Renovated 71,000-square foot building to be revealed with April 30th ribbon-cutting ceremony
(PRWeb)





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