Abbott Moves One Way in Cardiovascular Devices, Another in Orthopedics, To Get To the Same Place

Rumors about Abbott Laboratories Inc. 's acquisition of struggling European cardiovascular device company Jomed NV [See Deal] were all over this year's Paris Course on Revascularization (PCR) meeting, held in early May just weeks before the news officially broke. One report had Abbott paying a significant premium for the troubled company, well more than it's estimated break-up value of $75 million. Another report had Abbott and Jomed doing a three-way deal with vulnerable plaque start-up Volcano Therapeutics Inc. , with the latter walking off with the intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) business Jomed got when it acquired EndoSonics Corp. a couple of years ago [See Deal].

Of course, Abbott's eventual price paid, nearly $71 million plus the assumption of some liability (more than $20 million), was closer to the industry consensus on Jomed than to any...