AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS – Royal Philips Electronics says it has an agreement to acquire India-based Meditronics, a manufacturer of general X-ray systems marketed in India.

The Meditronics acquisition will be Philips' second acquisition in India and its fifth in emerging markets since mid 2007. Earlier acquisitions include Alpha X-Ray Technologies in India, China's Shenzhen Goldway Industrial and Dixtal Biom�dica e Tecnologia and VMI Sistemas Medicos in Brazil.

When the deal is complete, Meditronics will become part of the imaging systems business in Philips' healthcare sector. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

Meditronics is a general X-ray manufacturer in India with a strong focus on surgery (mobile C-arms) and radiography. It is headquartered in Mumbai and has about 150 employees.

Based in Amsterdam, Royal Philips has offices and healthcare markets throughout the world, including the United States.

"The acquisition of Meditronics, just two months after we announced the acquisition of Alpha, highlights our accelerating efforts to expand our healthcare business in emerging markets and India in particular," said Philips CEO Gerard Kleisterlee. "This underlines our conscious decision to step up investments in these high-growth areas while also delivering on our commitment to supply affordable healthcare solutions in emerging markets."

The Meditronics buy is the second within the last three months of a healthcare equipment maker in India specializing in supplying products for the economy segment - one of the fastest growing market segments in the global healthcare equipment market. Philips announced in early September the acquisition of Alpha, a leading manufacturer of cardiovascular X-ray systems.

Analysts estimate the economy segment of the global cardiovascular X-ray market shows annual growth rates of 10 percent to 15 percent.