KKR backs Australia ultrasound start-up

The company was founded in Adelaide in 2005, but ahead of this investment re-domiciled to the US, and is now headquartered in Washington state. The new capital will go towards technology development and accelerating global marketing and distribution of new products.

KKR is making the investment primarily off its balance sheet. The deal was led by the firm's healthcare investing team, which focuses on high-growth companies.

Signostics launched its first product, the Signos handheld ultrasound device, in 2009. Said to be the world's smallest and most affordable portable ultrasound system, it has been approved for the human medical device market in Australia, the US, Europe and Japan. The bladder scanner was introduced last year. It uses similar ultrasound technology to detect bladder volume.

Stewart Bartlett, Signostics' co-founder and COO, told the Australian Financial Review that the company sold about 1,000 portable ultrasound devices last year - they usually sell for A$8,000-9,000 ($5,700-6,400) apiece - and exports to 10 countries. About 80% of sales are through a global distribution arrangement with Japanese conglomerate Konica Minolta.

Signostics projects sales of 1,500 devices in 2014-2015 and is targeting annual revenue of A$5 million.

"We are thrilled to be investing behind such a visionary and accomplished team to support them in their continued development of innovative products that improve medicine and enable more efficient health care," said Justin Sabet-Peyman, a principal on KKR's healthcare investing team, in a statement.

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