Amsterdam: Philips has agreed to acquire US-based medical device maker Volcano Corp for $1.2 billion (Dh4.4 billion) including debt, its largest health care acquisition in seven years and an effort to cash in on more complex treatments for an ageing population. Philips said the acquisition would lead to synergies in research and development and sales, and would add to Philips’ earnings per share by 2017. The offer, a public tender of $18 per share, is at a premium of about 57 per cent to Volcano’s closing price on Tuesday. Volcano makes imaging catheters that can be inserted into veins to make ultrasound scans of the interiors of blood vessels, in order to conduct internal surgery without putting patients under the knife.