Alfred E. Mann wants to cure cancer, create an artificial pancreas and make life easier for diabetics. But he’s also a businessman. So when it came to his latest blockbuster deal, in which he sold MiniMed Inc. to Minnesota-based Medtronic Inc. for $3.3 billion in cash, Mann was characteristically candid: “It’s a great deal for us and the stockholders,” he said. Mann’s privately-owned Medical Research Group in Valencia also was sold for $420 million in cash and stock as part of the deal. An entrepreneur and biotech visionary, Mann built MiniMed, the insulin pump maker which employs 1,600 people, into a leader in its field. Last month, however, company officials agreed to be acquired by Medtronic, leaving Mann $816 million richer and with a handful of companies still to guide. The Business Journal caught up with Mann last week and spoke to him about what the changes mean to him, to MiniMed and to the biotech industry. Question: You have said before that, of all companies you have started, MiniMed was the one closest to your heart. Why then did you and the other stockholders decide to sell it to Medtronic? Answer: I believe this was the right thing for the company. There were other offers, but this one seemed to be the best because of the cash structure. They were willing to put up a lot of cash, unlike some of the others. We were influenced by our board and some of the people in the financial community who felt that this was a good deal. Q: You have also said that one of your most important goals was the development of an artificial pancreas, which is what Medical Research Group (the other company being sold) focuses on. What are you going to focus your attention on now? A: I have other ventures and, to the extent that my work load here decreases as the deal moves forward, I’ll be able to focus on them. In particular, Mannkind Corp. here in Sylmar (a firm that is developing vaccines for allergies). We’re making some excellent progress there. Q: What do you see for MiniMed’s future with new management? A: They’re not looking to give up any of our administrators or top people and they’ve said they’d like to keep everyone on. The plan for me is to continue on in some advisory capacity. I gave up the chief executive officer position a year ago and it’s time to move aside, so I’m not bothered by leaving the company I don’t see things changing much here and it’s more than likely that the company will continue in the way it has. It will continue to grow with Medtronic. Q: You’ve worked with a lot of the people at MiniMed for a long time. Did the personal relationship you have developed with so many here make it any more difficult to come to a decision about the future of the company? A: It wasn’t difficult at all. They assured me that they would keep our people and that things wouldn’t change that much. Terry Gregg, our president, will become chief executive officer as planned and that was important to me. It was really the best deal we could have hoped for I don’t have any issues at all about the deal. We’re actually getting pretty big now and we’re growing at 33 percent a year (in revenue), so I think that’s going to continue. Everything’s going pretty well and I’m happy. Q: What are your plans for the cash you’ll be receiving for your shares in the company (Mann owns 26 percent of MiniMed’s stock)? A: I’d like to give it to research, primarily. There is a lot of medical research that needs funding, but I haven’t made up my mind yet. It’s going to be an interesting process because there is need out there. Q: Will you take any time off once the deal with Medtronic is completed? A: Yeah, probably. I might take a weekend off (laughs). I don’t like to take time off. There’s way too much for me to do. I’m always working. There are a lot of things to do in my other companies and, now that I have the time, I’m going to be more involved in them. Q: Do you have any regrets about the sale of MiniMed? A: It’s hard to say but, more or less, one of my visions has been to create an artificial pancreas and it’s not complete. That’s something that’s been a really big interest of mine. But we were getting close.
