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Johnson & Johnson has struck a deal to buy medical device maker Shockwave Medical for $13.1bn, as the healthcare giant puts cash to work from the spin-off of its consumer health arm to pursue acquisitions in the medical technology sector.
The US healthcare company said on Friday that it would pay $335 a share in cash to acquire Shockwave, which specialises in manufacturing a catheter-based treatment for patients with calcified arteries. Both companies’ boards have approved the deal, which values Shockwave including debt at $13.1bn, J&J added.
J&J chief executive Joaquin Duato said the acquisition provided “a unique opportunity to accelerate our impact in cardiovascular intervention and drive greater value for patients, shareholders and health systems”. Shockwave’s technology has treated approximately 400,000 patients globally, the company said.
Duato has previously said J&J would aggressively pursue deals in high-growth segments of the business, such as its medical technology division. J&J has been sitting on a significant cash pile after it decided to spin out its consumer health business Kenvue last year, with the share offering generating $13.2bn.
The company’s last major acquisition was the $16.6bn takeover of heart device maker Abiomed in November 2022. J&J’s medtech division has outstripped the growth of the company’s drugs and diagnostics business, generating $30.4bn in sales last year, or 35 per cent of group revenues.
J&J was valued at $367bn, as of market close in New York on Thursday.
Shockwave has the market-leading treatment for patients with calcified arterial lesions, which is a major contributor to the risk of heart disease or a heart attack.
The Santa Clara-based company’s intravascular lithotripsy treatment involves a catheter producing electrical impulses being inserted into patients’ arteries, helping to break up the build-up of calcium.
“As part of a larger, more diverse organisation, with broad expertise and a core focus on improving patient outcomes, we are confident we will be able to further solidify [intravascular lithotripsy] as the global standard of care for patients,” said Shockwave president and chief executive Doug Godshall.
Shockwave has an existing partnership with J&J-owned Abiomed, after Abiomed invested $15mn in Shockwave in 2018. Last year, Shockwave completed a $147mn acquisition of Neovasc, which produces a device to treat refractory angina, another type of heart defect.
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