Johnson & Johnson’s $25.4 billion dollar purchase of Guidant looks set to get the go-ahead in Europe, according to a report this morning in the Financial Times, with a confirmatory decision to be unveiled later this month or early September. The deadline is September 5 [[26/05/05c]].
Back in April, the European Commission launched an extensive investigation into the deal, which it said “may create significant competition problems” because of overlaps in cardiac devices, reports the FT. It appears to have changed its mind, but the merger will still need the thumbs up from the US Federal Trade Commission to go ahead. J&J has stood by the deal despite Guidant’s recall of defibrillators and pacemakers [[21/06/05e]], [[20/07/05j]].
