Keystone Dental and Southern Implants Agree to Merge

BURLINGTON, Mass. and IRVINE, Calif., June 21, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Keystone Dental, Inc. ("Keystone" or "the company"), a leading oral healthcare company dedicated to the delivery of breakthrough implant technology, and Southern Implants, Inc. ("Southern Implants"), a producer of unique and innovative dental implant technologies aimed to simplify clinical challenges for implant surgeons and restorative dentists, today announced the companies have merged. The terms of the merger agreement were undisclosed.

Both Keystone and Southern Implants are well-known, leading providers of dental implant technologies and services, and deeply rooted within the oral healthcare community. With over 25 years of combined experience, the merged company becomes one of the largest and most specialized oral healthcare providers in the U.S. and is well-positioned to take advantage of the expanding dental implant market, particularly in North America. The combined entity will retain the name "Keystone Dental."

Michael Kehoe is the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the newly merged company and the former CEO of Southern Implants. Mr. Kehoe has a keen understanding of the oral healthcare sector from his years of experience at Southern Implants and previously as Founder and CEO of Innova Lifesciences Corporation (now a part of the Danaher Corporation). The new management team will be comprised of individuals from both Keystone and Southern Implants.

"The merger of Keystone Dental and Southern Implants represents an excellent strategic fit for the two companies," said Michael Kehoe, new President and CEO of Keystone Dental. "The combination of Keystone's portfolio of industry-proven biomaterials and dental implants with Southern's unique dental implant systems for both the esthetic zone and molar regions provides the merged company with a greatly expanded product range for the dental implant community."

"This merger will strongly reinforce each company's existing presence in the U.S. and in other international markets. Beyond the great technology combination, it will provide a unique addition of talent in management, product development, sales and customer support, added to a long combined dental experience," said Pascal Girin, former CEO of Keystone Dental and now a board member of the merged company.

The company will maintain headquarters in Burlington, MA and will continue to operate its other manufacturing facility in Irvine, CA.

About Keystone DentalKeystone Dental is an oral healthcare company dedicated to the delivery of breakthrough technology. Headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts, Keystone Dental's product portfolio includes Genesis, The Biomimetic Implant System(TM), The Prima(TM) Implant System, DynaMatrix® Extracellular Membrane, DynaBlast® and DynaGraft® bone graft substitutes, and Accell Connexus(TM), a next-generation bioactive bone grafting product.

Launched in 2006 by Warburg Pincus, a leading global private equity firm focused on growth investing, Keystone Dental represents the continuation of the business of Lifecore Biomedical, a participant in the dental implant market since 1990. Keystone Dental's vision is to be a trusted oral healthcare partner focused on breakthrough technologies, whose goal is to inspire customers, instill pride in its employees, and deliver value every day.

About Southern ImplantsSouthern Implants was established in 2006 to commercialize in North America, South America and Asia, dental implant technologies that have been sold in Europe and other parts of the world for over two decades. Southern Implants, with headquarters in Irvine, California, provides implant surgeons and restorative dentists with a broad range of implants and restorative components that work seamlessly with existing systems while offering unique, innovative features that simplify even the most complex clinical challenges.

Southern Implants' proprietary products, the MAX and Co-Axis implant systems provide unique therapies which will enable the merged company to differentiate itself competitively and to grow within this large and expanding market. In addition, Southern Implants manufactures a complete line of generic implants.

The MAX Implant is an FDA-cleared implant for immediate placement and immediate load in a molar extraction socket. The Co-Axis Implant is the only implant on the market with 12 degree and 24 degree angle incorporated into the implant for multiple applications.