Stryker readies $750M notes offering | Wall Street Beat

September 13, 2011 By MassDevice staff

Stryker Corp. (NYSE:SYK) is readying a $750 million debt offering of five-year senior notes, little more than a week after inking a $135 million deal to acquire Concentric Medical Inc.

The Kalamazoo, Mich.-based orthopedics giant issued another massive round of debt notes early last year, offering $500 million in 5-year notes and $500 million in 10-year notes.

Stryker filed a supplement today to the prospectus it filed Jan. 12, 2010, with the federal Securities & Exchange Commission in conjunction with the prior offering.

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The latest offering is slated to hit Wall Street later today, according to the Wall Street Journal. Citing “a person familiar with the deal,” the newspaper said the the offering size is “firm” and unlikely to increase.

Until last year’s debt sale, Stryker was known for financing acquisitions with cash. But a buying spree of more recent vintage – the company put $1.45 billion on the table for Boston Scientific’s (NYSE:BSX) neurovascular business, for example – has burned through a lot of its cash.

The deal for Concentric and its minimally invasive devices to remove blood clots from stroke victims will add to the sizable footprint the BSX deal gave Stryker in the neurovascular market.

Hansen Medical a takeover target?

Hansen Medical Inc. (NSDQ:HNSN) could be on the auction block, according to Benzinga.com, citing “a source close to the matter who is also a shareholder of both Hansen and Intuitive Surgical.”

Hansen spun out of Intuitive Surgical Inc. (NSDQ:ISRG) in 2002 after founder Dr. Fred Moll left when new management came on board, according to the website’s un-named source. Hansen then licensed a number of patents and technologies from Intuitive, according to the source.

The close ties between ISRG and Hansen complicate potential takeover scenarios, putting the parent company square in the mix with deep-pocketed rivals looking to enter the robotic surgery space – such as Medtronic Inc. (NYSE:MDT) and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ).

SonoSite grants BlackRock Inc. a window to up its stake

BlackRock Inc. (NYSE:BLK) can now own nearly 22 percent of SonoSite Inc. (NSDQ:SONO), after one of the latter’s main institutional shareholders granted a limited exemption to the investment firm.

Computershare Trust Co. agreed to the exemption, according to an SEC filing, which allows BlackRock to own up to 21.99 percent of SONO’s common stock, 2 percent above the 19.99 percent threshold according to the deal struck in 2007 between Computershare Trust and SonoSite.

The window closes when either BlackRock’s stake drops below 18 percent, BlackRock is sold, or it issues another SEC filing indicating that its SonoSite stake is above 20 percent.

NASDAQ warns iCAD on share price

The NASDAQ stock exchange warned iCAD Inc. (NSDQ:ICAD) that it faces de-listing from the exchange if it can’t get its share price above $1 for a 10 days in a row.

The Nashua, N.H.-based imaging software maker has until March 7, 2012, to right the ship before the exchange issues another de-listing warning.

That would trigger an appeals process that could gain iCAD another 180 days to boost its share price, according to a press release.

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