By ,
Published January 13, 2015
Guidant Corp. (GDT) abandoned its support for a $24.2 billion acquisition bid from Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) in favor of Tuesday's far richer $27.2 billion offer from Boston Scientific Corp. (BSX).
The shift came after Guidant's board had twice rejected higher offers from Boston Scientific in favor of a J&J proposal that Guidant had said offered a speedier route to completion.
Guidant said in a brief statement that its board determined "that Boston Scientific's revised offer to acquire Guidant is superior to the terms of the company's current merger agreement with Johnson & Johnson."
Boston Scientific had set a 5 p.m. EST deadline for the Guidant response, which was announced about 30 minutes before that deadline.
Boston Scientific's latest offer was more than $2 billion richer than an offer it had presented last Thursday, and included other new enticements in hopes of enticing Guidant's board away from J&J's proposal.
Shareholders are due to vote on J&J's offer Jan. 31. But with Indianapolis-based Guidant declaring Boston Scientific's bid superior, J&J now has five business days to counter it under the terms of its agreement with Guidant. Boston Scientific's offer will remain open for formal acceptance by Guidant until Jan. 25.
https://www.foxnews.com/story/guidant-boston-scientific-offer-better-than-johnsonjohnsons