ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - St. Jude Medical Inc. agreed to buy cardiac equipment
maker EP MedSystems for about $92.1 million, the medical devices maker said
Wednesday.
The move will boost St. Jude's product line for devices used to assist the
treatment of heart ailments.
St. Jude said it will pay $3 per share to EP holders in either cash or
stock, a premium of more than double EP's closing price Tuesday of $1.41.
The total price is based on the 30.4 million EP shares outstanding at the
end of December, according to the West Berlin, N.J., company's most recent
earnings report. St. Jude plans to pay no more than 40 percent of the total in
stock.
St. Jude said it will repurchase $50 million in shares in connection with
the transaction, boosting its buyback authorization to $300 million, to offset
the dilution created by the using shares to finance the buyout.
The companies expect the deal to close in the third quarter, at which time
St. Jude expects to book a charge for in-process research and development.
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