Monday October 6 9:48 AM EDT
Guidant to buy Endovascular for $170 mln
INDIANAPOLIS, Oct 6 (Reuter) - Guidant Corp reached a definitive agreement to acquire Endovascular Technologies Inc (EVTI) in a stock transaction valued at
about $170 million, the companies announced jointly on Monday.
''The transaction will be a tax-free, stock-for-stock exchange valued at approximately $170 million, and will be accounted for as a pooling of interest transaction,''
said Guidant chairman James Cornelius.
Each outstanding share of Endovascular common stock would be exchanged for shares of Guidant valued at $20 per EndoVascular share, subject to possible
adjustment pursuant to a collar arrangement, the companies said.
The transaction is also subject to certain other customary conditions, they said.
Endovascular has developed a catheter-based delivery system to implant a specialized sutureless prosthesis to repair life-threatening abdominal aortic aneurysms
without major surgery, the companies said.
In the United States, more than 190,000 abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) are diagnosed each year and 45,000 patients undergo surgery, the companies said.
''Endovascular treatment of AAA represents a significant clinical advance over the traditional surgical procedure,'' they said.
Endovascular's Ancure product line is in clinical trials in the United States and has been used in more than 600 patients worldwide, the companies said.
Shares in Guidant were up 3/8 at 61-1/4, while shares in Endovascular, based in Menlo Park, Calif., were halted at 16-6/16 in early trading Monday. |
