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BSX and GDT...Boston Scientific clears final hurdle for Guidant acquisition
Thursday April 20, 8:38 am ET


Medical device maker Boston Scientific Corp. has obtained FTC antitrust approval for its $27.5 billion purchase of Guidant Corp.
The Natick, Mass., company (NYSE: BSX - News) announced Thursday that had had received the antitrust approval from the five-member U.S. Federal Trade Commission. Gaining the approval was crucial for the deal to move forward, and follows a tentative agreement reached two weeks ago on the matter with the commission's staff.

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Boston Scientific now has European and U.S. regulatory approval to close the deal, and shareholders from both companies approved the merger at the end of March. The transaction will close on April 21.

Boston Scientific, perhaps best known for its drug-coated artery stents, is now poised to acquire Guidant (NYSE: GDT - News) and its lucrative cardiac device business.

The terms of the deal call for each share of Guidant common stock to be converted at the closing into $42 in cash and between 1.3167 and 1.6769 shares of Boston Scientific common stock. Guidant's stock closed Wednesday at $21.79 per share, and the merger deal boosts the stock portion of the transaction up to $36.80 per share.

Published April 20, 2006 by the Boston Business Journal




http://biz.yahoo.com/bizj/060420/1275310.html?.v=1