DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
St. Jude Medical Inc. (STJ) unveiled a $90 million cash takeover
of Goodman Co.'s (7535.JA) LightLab subsidiary, which makes imaging
technology to help diagnose heart disease.
Earlier this month, LightLab received Food and Drug
Administration approval to sell the first products using the
technology--called optical coherence tomography--in the U.S. St.
Jude said the technology produces higher-resolution images faster
than ultrasound systems. It allows clinicians to see and measure
vessel characteristics that are hard or impossible to see with
older devices.
St. Jude said the addition will boost revenue by $20 million in
the second half of the year, with the market expected to grow
robustly over the next five years, by taking control of ultrasound
market share and expanding the market for coronary imaging.
Last month, the company reported better-than-expected
first-quarter profit as the company's heart-rhythm device business
benefited from problems at rival Boston Scientific Corp. (BSX) and
internal restructuring moves, the latter driving such improvements
as to prompt a boost in full-year guidance. Last year, it cut about
5% of the work force, among other changes.
Shares in St. Jude closed Wednesday down 0.2% at $38.40 and were
flat in after-hours trading. The stock has risen 5% in the last
year, underperforming the market at large.
-By Joan E. Solsman, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2291;
joan.solsman@dowjones.com