Miraca Life Sciences yesterday announced it has acquired PLUS Diagnostics. As a result, Miraca is now the “largest independent anatomic pathology laboratory company in the United States” and will handle specimens from more than 5,500 patients per day. Until 2006, PLUS Diagnostics was a regional laboratory based in Irvine California, when it was purchased by Water Street Healthcare Partners, a private equity firm with $2 billion in capital that specializes in healthcare industry ventures. Since then, PLUS has tripled in size and increased its subspecialty capabilities. If the Water Street name sounds familiar, it is likely because it was in the news for having sold another of its laboratory companies, ConVerge, to Quest Diagnostics earlier this month. The financial terms of the Miraca-PLUS deal, which closed on October 21, 2013, will not be disclosed, but Mr. Dave Pauluzzi, CEO of PLUS Diagnostics, told me Water Street and PLUS are “very pleased with the outcome.”
