Guidant Johnson & Johnson vote ahead, but more ICD failures
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
Guidant's shareholders will meet at an EGM on January 31 to vote on whether to accept the $21.5bn offer for the company from Johnson & Johnson. J&J's offer is $3.9bn less than its late-2004 bid of $25.4bn, but Guidant's product recalls in the summer forced J&J to review its offer in November. The date of the vote was set following the Securities and Exchange Commission's declaration on December 28 that the amended and restated merger agreement was "effective".