A GALWAY medical devices manufacturer has been sold to an American company for more than €3m.

Zerusa, which makes valves for the diagnosis and treatment of vascular disease, is being bought by the Nasdaq-listed Vascular Solutions in an all-cash deal. Zerusa was set up in 2003 by former Boston Scientific executive Liam Mulloy.

Zerusa's shareholders will be paid €2.85m when the takeover closes and will receive another €300,000 in six months. All of the company's employees will be kept on after the takeover.

The company's main product is the Guardian hemostasis valve. These are already distributed in the US by Vascular Solutions. According to Vascular, worldwide sales of the devices were €1.25m in 2010, three-quarters of that in the US. The most recent accounts available for Zerusa show it had accumulated losses approaching €12m in the year to end March 2009. Vascular Solutions' most recent quarterly results show it had sales of €14.6m and profits of about €1m.

"We are excited about... being able to expand their market exposure while capturing the entire margin on the sale of the products in the US and adding international sales to our results," it said in a statement.