European Union regulators are poised to give the OK to Johnson & Johnson‘s (NYSE:JNJ) $21.3 billion acquisition of Swiss orthopedic giant Synthes, according to Reuters.
The anti-trust regulators wrung concessions aimed at reducing J&J’s shadow over the trauma device market from the health products giant, according to the news service, citing "a person familiar with the matter."
"The deal will be cleared by the [European] Commission," according to the source, "who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter," Reuters reported.
That means a decision on the takeover bid could come sooner than the April 26 deadline, according to the source. And a second un-named person "with direct knowledge of the case" told Reuters that J&J gave way to EU regulators over trauma products for bone fractures.
EuroZone regulators extended their probe into the merger last November on anti-trust concerns.
Study: Patent-sharing the rising tide that lifts all boats
Making a patented technology available to competitors increases the likelihood of innovation, boosting profits for the patent owner and improving the market in general, according to a University at Buffalo study. Read more
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business risk profile." Read more
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Kozlowski is back in New York
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DoD exercises option on $71M Zimmer contract
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Funding Roundup
- Stealth Therapeutics looks for $1.5M
- Medtronic, Elliott Management join $24M round for REVA Medical
- Medifocus announces $2M private placement
- Emergent Medical Partners pulls in $70M
- Tepha lands $11.3M
- Young Innovations announces 125k-share buyback plan
- Spectrascience details debt offering
- InVivo Therapeutics details private placements, warrants
Analysts’ ups and downs
- Abbott (NYSE:ABT): Deutsche upgrades from Hold to Buy, sets $70 price target.
- Amgen (NSDQ:AMGN): Stifel Nicolaus resumes coverage at Hold."
- Covidien (NYSE:COV): Leerink Swann maintains "outperform" rating, $60 price target.
- Medtronic (NYSE:MDT): Barclays Capital maintains "2-equal weight" rating, $41 price target.
- Stryker (NYSE:SYK): Credit Suisse initiates coverage at "outperform," $63 price target.
- Unilife (NSDQ:UNIS): Leerink Swann initiates coverage at "outperform," sets $5-$6 price target.
