{"id":11680,"date":"2016-09-17T10:32:00","date_gmt":"2016-09-17T10:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=11680"},"modified":"2016-09-17T11:34:03","modified_gmt":"2016-09-17T11:34:03","slug":"jj-buy-abbotts-eye-surgery-equipment-unit-4-325-billion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/business\/jj-buy-abbotts-eye-surgery-equipment-unit-4-325-billion.html","title":{"rendered":"J&J to Buy Abbott\u2019s Eye-Surgery Equipment Unit for $4.325 billion"},"content":{"rendered":"

J&J to Buy Abbott\u2019s Eye-Surgery Equipment Unit for $4.325 billion<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

J&J to Buy Abbott\u2019s Eye-Surgery Equipment Unit for $4.325 billion<\/strong> : Abbott Laboratories agreed to sell its eye-surgery equipment business to Johnson & Johnson for $4.325 billion as the health-care giants remake their lineups of medical devices, the companies said Friday.<\/span><\/p>\n

The all-cash deal, previously reported by The Wall Street Journal, gives J&J the No. 2 business in cataract surgeries, an $8 billion global market that is growing about 5% a year, according to the company.<\/span><\/p>\n

Abbott had bought the eye business, then known as Advanced Medical Optics, for $2.8 billion, including debt, in 2009. Abbott is selling the business, now named Abbott Medical Optics, amid sluggish sales and as the Abbott Park, Ill., company has been doing deals in faster-growing device segments.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been actively and strategically shaping our portfolio,\u201d focusing more on heart devices and expanding diagnostics,\u201d Chief Executive Miles D. White said in prepared remarks.<\/span><\/p>\n

The biggest of Abbott\u2019s recent deals is a roughly $25 billion pending agreement to buy St. Jude Medical Inc. and its portfolio of heart valves, pacemakers and other cardiovascular devices. Abbott also has agreed to buy a health-testing company, Alere Inc., for about $5 billion, though it has sought to scotch the deal as Alere faces a foreign-corruption investigation. Alere in August filed a lawsuit to force Abbott to complete the acquisition.<\/span><\/p>\n

There has been a wave of mergers among medical-device companies, which are facing intensifying competition and pricing pressure from networks of hospitals that have themselves been consolidating.<\/span><\/p>\n

Abbott\u2019s medical-optics business makes equipment used in cataract and LASIK vision-correction surgeries, as well as contact lenses. Last year, it notched $1.1 billion in sales, down 6.9%, largely because of a strong dollar. Sales have been picking up this year.<\/span><\/p>\n

The deal, expected to close by April, isn\u2019t seen changing Abbott\u2019s earnings target for 2017.<\/span><\/p>\n

J&J, based in New Brunswick, N.J., also has been acquiring medtech assets as part of efforts to accelerate growth in the unit. In 2012, it bought Synthes Inc., a maker of devices used to treat fractures and traumatic injuries, for roughly $20 billion.<\/span><\/p>\n

AMO, and its cataract-replacement lenses especially, will fit naturally with J&J\u2019s eye-care unit and help it diversify into the surgical suite and increase sales in emerging markets, said Ashley McEvoy, the J&J executive responsible for the company\u2019s vision-care companies.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve always been interested in the broader eye-health segment,\u201d Ms. McEvoy said in an interview.<\/span><\/p>\n

The business complements J&J\u2019s portfolio of contact lenses and solutions, part of a $7 billion segment of the $68 billion global eye-health market. It would give J&J more products to pump through its distribution network\u2014and for salespeople to discuss with doctors, common motivations for health-care mergers.<\/span><\/p>\n

J&J sees the deal immediately adding to its adjusted earnings after the close.<\/span><\/p>\n

Last year, J&J notched $25.1 billion in medical-device sales, while Abbott had $20.4 billion in total revenue.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014George Stahl contributed to this article.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source<\/strong> : http:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/j-j-nears-deal-to-buy-abbotts-eye-surgery-equipment-unit-1474043861<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t <\/div><\/div>\n\t\t