Every few years or so a medtech acquisition is so huge, so ambitious, that it defines an entire year. The year 2005, for example, belongs to Boston Scientific Corp.’s $27 billion acquisition of Guidant Corp. [See Deal] The audacity of the deal captured the imagination – and derision – of medtech watchers. But deals like that have the potential to redefine a sector. In the case of Boston Scientific-Guidant that clearly did not happen, but the deal still serves as a historical milepost by which other deals are measured.
Medtronic Inc.’s $47 billion purchase of Medtronic Minimally Invasive Therapies, which closed Jan. 26, easily captures the title for...