Medtronic PLC agreed to pay $1.6 billion to buy an Israeli maker of a robotic system for spine surgery, Mazor Robotics, in a deal announced late Thursday.

Minnesota-run Medtronic previously held a $300 million stake in Mazor, bringing the net price of the deal to $1.3 billion, or $29.25 per share.

The deal is expected to close by the end of January.

"We believe robotic-assisted procedures are the future of spine surgery, enhancing surgeons' abilities to perform complex procedures with greater precision, consistency and control," Geoff Martha, president of Medtronic's restorative therapies business, said in a statement. "Medtronic is committed to accelerating the adoption of robotic-assisted surgery and transforming spine care through procedural solutions that integrate implants, biologics and enabling technologies."

Martha said the deal will add robotic-assisted guidance systems to Medtronic's expanding line of spine technologies, which drew $2.7 billion in revenue last year.

But the site of the innovation for the Mazor X robotic surgical guidance system in Israel will remain.

Medtronic became the exclusive worldwide distributor of the Mazor X system last year, and more than 80 of the systems have been successfully installed since launch.

Joe Carlson