Zonare Medical plans initial public offering

The Mountain View, Calif.-based company plans to use proceeds from the offering to repay debt, fund research and development and sales and marketing, and for general corporate purposes.

Zonare develops and manufactures compact ultrasound systems used for medical diagnostic imaging. The company received U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance in September 2002 and shipped its first commercial ultrasound system in March 2005. As of March 31, the company had shipped more than 1,000 systems worldwide.

In addition to system sales, the company generates revenue through service agreements with customers.

Zonare is led by Donald J. Southard, who has served as president and chief executive since January 2004. Before that, Southard, 62, served as president of the patient monitoring division at medical device company Datascope Corp.

For the three months ended March 31, the company reported a loss attributable to common stockholders of $6.4 million, compared with a loss of $3.3 million in the prior-year period. Revenue slipped to $8.9 million from $11.5 million in the first three months of 2007.

Citi, Piper Jaffray, Cowen and Co. and Canaccord Adams are underwriting the offering.

Zonare has applied to list its shares on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol "ZONE."