MANN TO ASCEND FORBES 400 LIST PHILANTHROPIST TO CASH OUT, STOCK UP.Byline: Jesse Hiestand Staff Writer NORTHRIDGE - Already one of America's richest people, MiniMed founder and largest shareholder Alfred E. Mann Alfred E. Mann (born 1925, Portland, OR), who is also known as Al Mann, is an American entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is a billionaire. Born and raised in Portland, his father was English and mother Polish. stands to make at least $816 million on the sale Wednesday of two of his medical-care companies. Mann, a 75-year-old biotech pioneer, owns 17.87 million shares of MiniMed, for which Minneapolis-based Medtronic plans to pay $48 apiece. When it closes in 120 days or less, the deal is also expected to bring Mann an undisclosed amount of cash or Medtronic stock for Medical Research Group, a privately held company privately held company A firm whose shares are held within a relatively small circle of owners and are not traded publicly. also founded by Mann. It is being sold for $420 million. ``It's huge - the numbers with this guy,'' said Bruce Ackerman, president and chief executive of the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. . ``He's so magnanimous and generous with the money he's earned.'' Indeed, Mann donated $100 million to USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. in 1998 to help turn scientific discoveries into marketable products. He plans to make a similar donation to his alma mater, UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX . Even with that, the sale of MiniMed and MRG would propel Mann further up the Forbes 400, a list of America's wealthiest individuals. The sale alone would put Mann in a league with real estate magnate Edward Roski Jr., worth an estimated $900 million, and media executives Michael D. Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg, each worth about $800 million on the 2000 list. Mann was already ranked No. 175 last year, valued at $1.6 billion. In a March 1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mann owned 27 percent of MiniMed's common stock. Some of MiniMed's 1,600 employees believe they will benefit as well, particularly because there is no overlap in products and Medtronic plans to keep developing MiniMed's diabetes treatments, including its ambitious artificial pancreas. ``I think it will expand the capacity of both companies - this is a technology they don't have,'' said a MiniMed engineer outside the headquarters in Northridge. A sales associate said employees were alerted of the deal by e-mail Wednesday morning, leading to a mix of excitement and apprehension. MiniMed develops its insulin pumps at a sprawling corporate headquarters recently built at Devonshire Street and Zelzah Avenue. Alfred E. Mann Biomedical Park sits on 19 acres leased from California State University, Northridge CSUN offers a variety of programs leading to bachelor's degrees in 61 fields and master's degrees in 42 fields. The university has over 150,000 alumni. It's also home to a summer musical theater/theater program known as TADW (TeenAge Drama Workshop) that leads teenagers through an . University officials said they will meet next week with MiniMed to discuss the future of the arrangement but are confident there will be no major changes in the 40-year lease. MiniMed already offers summer internships for CSUN students and discussions are under way for faculty research there as well. Tom McCarron, executive director of North Campus University Park Development Corp., said he was relieved MiniMed was staying put. ``It's a good economic stimulator for the Valley and will keep over 1,000 jobs here,'' McCarron said. In all, Mann has at least five other businesses, including hearing-aid maker Advanced Bionics Corp. That company recently won city approval to expand its headquarters in Sylmar, the former home of MiniMed. RISE OF A BIOTECH 1980 - Al Mann forms a team of engineers to develop an implantable insulin pump with NASA and the Applied Physics Laboratory The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), located in Laurel, Maryland, is a not-for-profit, university-affiliated research center employing 4,000 people. at Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University, mainly at Baltimore, Md. Johns Hopkins in 1867 had a group of his associates incorporated as the trustees of a university and a hospital, endowing each with $3.5 million. Daniel C. per the suggestion of the chief cardiologist at the University of Alabama The University of Alabama (also known as Alabama, UA or colloquially as 'Bama) is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA. Founded in 1831, UA is the flagship campus of the University of Alabama System. . 1983 - MiniMed introduces the first insulin pump, the MiniMed 502, at the American Diabetes Association The American Diabetes Association, or the ADA, is an American health organization providing diabetes research, information and advocacy. Founded in 1940, the American Diabetes Association conducts programs in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, reaching hundreds of convention, shortly followed by the 502A. 1985 - Pacesetter spins off the insulin pump business as MiniMed Technologies Limited after the 502A proves its marketability. 1986 - Dr. Christopher Saudek implants the first MiniMed pump in a patient at Johns Hopkins Hospital
1987 - MiniMed introduces Sof-set, the first infusion device that replaces a metal needle with a soft cannula cannula /can·nu·la/ (kan´u-lah) a tube for insertion into a vessel, duct, or cavity; during insertion its lumen is usually occupied by a trocar. can·nu·la or can·u·la n. pl. that rests under the skin. 1992 - MiniMed opens international sales office in France. The company spins off into three companies as Siemens acquires the group's intravenous pump operations, Advanced Bionic Corp. develops the Clarion, a hearing device for the profoundly deaf, and MiniMed Inc. continues to work on diabetes technology. 1995 - MiniMed goes public and trades on the Nasdaq with the symbol MNMD. 1996 - MiniMed acquires Home Medical, enabling the company to deliver systems for the treatment of diabetes. 1998 - MiniMed breaks ground for headquarters at California State University Enrollment  Northridge. MiniMed acquires privately held Diabetes Support Systems, Inc. 1999 - The Federal Drug Administration approves MiniMed's glucose monitoring system for diabetics. 2000 - MiniMed receives approval to commercially distribute the implantable insulin pump in Europe. May 30, 2001 - Minneapolis-based Medtronic signs agreement to aquire MiniMed for $3.7 billion. CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: (color) MiniMed makes a sensor that can continuously measure glucose in a diabetic's blood. Marisa Roth/The New York Times Box: Rise of a Biotech (see text) |
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