AUSTIN, Texas, Feb 08, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — ArthroCare Corp. (ARTC 26.00, -0.04, -0.15%), a leader in developing state-of-the-art, minimally invasive surgical products, announced today that the Costa Rican government has granted an extension of the Company’s current tax holiday. Under the holiday extension, the Company’s business profits will not be subject to Costa Rican income tax until January 1, 2016, after which time such profits will be subject to general corporate tax rules then in effect. There have been no other changes to the Company’s current tax holiday arrangement with the Costa Rican government.
As a condition of the extension, the Company is required to meet certain investment and employment targets by December 2010. The Company believes it will meet all of the requirements in the normal course of its existing business plans.
“We look forward to continuing to expand our presence in Costa Rica. Our manufacturing facility there has proven to be a significant factor to the ongoing success of the Company and its business operations,” noted David Fitzgerald, President and Chief Executive Officer of ArthroCare.
ABOUT ARTHROCARE
Founded in 1993, ArthroCare Corp. is a highly innovative, multi-business medical device company that develops, manufactures, and markets minimally invasive surgical products. With these products, ArthroCare targets a multi-billion dollar market across several medical specialties, significantly improving existing surgical procedures and enabling new, minimally invasive procedures. Many of ArthroCare’s products are based on its patented Coblation(R) technology, which uses low-temperature radiofrequency energy to gently and precisely dissolve rather than burn soft tissue — minimizing damage to healthy tissue. Used in surgeries worldwide, Coblation-based devices have been developed and marketed for sports medicine; spine/neurologic; ear, nose and throat (ENT); cosmetic; urologic; and gynecologic procedures. ArthroCare also has added a number of other technologies to its portfolio, including Opus Medical sports medicine, Parallax spine and Applied Therapeutics ENT products, to complement Coblation within key indications.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
The information provided herein includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Statements that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on beliefs and assumptions by management and on information currently available to management. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any of them publicly in light of new information or future events. Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement include, without limitation: the ability of the Company to fulfill its obligations with respect to the rights of the holders of the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, including but not limited to the redemption rights and registration rights of the holders of the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock; the resolution of litigation pending against the Company; the Company’s ability to design or improve internal controls to address issues detected in its reviews of internal controls and insurance reimbursement practices (collectively, the “Reviews”) or by management in its reassessment of the Company’s internal controls; the impact upon the Company’s operations of legal compliance matters or internal controls review, improvement and remediation; the ability of the Company to control expenses relating to legal compliance matters or internal controls review, improvement and remediation; the Company’s ability to remain current in its periodic reporting requirements under the Exchange Act and to file required reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission on a timely basis; the results of the investigations being conducted by the Staff of the Division of Enforcement of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the United States Department of Justice; the impact on the Company of additional civil and criminal investigations by state and federal agencies and civil suits by private third parties involving the Company’s financial reporting and its previously announced restatement and its insurance billing and healthcare fraud-and-abuse compliance practices; the ability of the Company to attract and retain qualified senior management and to prepare and implement appropriate succession planning for its Chief Executive Officer; general business, economic and political conditions; competitive developments in the medical devices market; changes in applicable legislative or regulatory requirements; the Company’s ability to effectively and successfully implement its financial and strategic alternatives, as well as business strategies, and manage the risks in its business; and the reactions of the marketplace to the foregoing.
SOURCE: ArthroCare Corporation
