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Biotech / Medical : Pharma News Only (pfe,mrk,wla, sgp, ahp, bmy, lly)

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To: B.REVERE who wrote (259)	6/9/1998 7:35:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) of 1722

Arterial Vascular CEO Says Firm Is Feeling Acquisitive June 09, 1998 2:51 PM MINNEAPOLIS -(Dow Jones)- Arterial Vascular Engineering Inc. President and Chief Executive Officer Scott Solano Tuesday said the company is exploring some 10 to 12 acquisition possibilities, but declined to comment on recent speculation the company is a leading contender to buy Pfizer Inc.'s Schneider Worldwide unit. Market talk during the past few days pegs Boston Scientific Corp. (BSX) as a likely buyer of Pfizer's (PFE) cardiovascular-device subsidiary for $2 billion to $2.2 billion. Arterial Vascular (AVEI) is considered a runner-up. Boston Scientific Chief Financial Officer Larry Best declined to comment on speculation that Boston Scientific is a leading contender to acquire Schneider Worldwide. However, Best said Boston Scientific has looked into buying Schneider. "Obviously Schneider is a property everyone has looked at," he said. "We have looked at it. It has some value to everyone. It's a matter of how much value." Best said Boston Scientific continues to be acquisitive and said investors can expect a small acquisition to be announced soon. He didn't elaborate. "It's not large but significant enough to disclose coming up," Best said. Speaking at the Piper Jaffray investor conference here Tuesday, Best said U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for its Nir stent is expected in the first two weeks of July, instead of this month. Best also said that federal approval for its Radius stent in the U.S. is imminent, and hopes for approval in the next several weeks. Solano said the 10 to 12 acquisition possibilities considered by Arterial Vascular range from small purchases to "fairly large" ones and are in various stages of talks, including some that are just on the radar screen. Solano said the company has two components to its pricing strategy in an acquisition. He said the acquisition would have to fit strategically with the company's product line. He also said the company looks for deals that are accretive to earnings and said it isn't "shopping for dilutive" deals. If an acquisition is dilutive in the short term, it would have to be "extremely strategic," he said. "At some point at the upper end (of purchase prices), they become dilutive and they have to have a very dramatic strategic impact in order for us to assume it's okay for us to move forward with those," Solano said. "I would prefer not to be very specific regarding the exact levels of what we're looking at." The company could face significant earnings dilution if it completes a deal priced at more than $1.5 billion, according to observers. Schneider's primary appeal to Boston Scientific lies in its strong patent portfolio in nylon angioplasty balloons and "rapid-exchange" catheters. Rapid-exchange, or single-operator-exchange, catheters make switching angioplasty balloons easier than traditional over-the-wire catheters. In a stent procedure, doctors must first remove the balloon that performed the angioplasty before they can go back in with another balloon to position the stent. They will also occasionally switch a balloon during an angioplasty if a different size is needed. Copyright (c) 1998 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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