| Covidien Bolsters Vascular Intervention Business With ev3 Deal The Burrill Report submits: By Michael FitzhughCovidien (COV), a global medical equipment and pharmaceuticals company, is moving to bolster its growing vascular intervention business by acquiring the medical device maker ev3 (EVVV) for $2.6 billion. The acquisition is likely to play a key part in helping Covidien achieve the 9 percent to 12 percent 2010 net sales growth it expects to post in its medical devices segment, as compared to 2009. It expects sales in its pharmaceuticals and medical supplies units to be flat. Once part of Tyco HealthCare, Dublin, Ireland-based Covidien has made a string of acquisitions during the past few years, including the California-based companies, VNUS Medical and Bacchus Vascular, which have since become the core of its growing vascular business. The acquisition of ev3 expands Covidien's offerings with products focused on identifying and treating peripheral vascular disease, including, in particular, lower extremity arterial disease and neurovascular disease. Covidien sees the potential for “good double digit growth” in the non-heart-related vascular treatment area, says Joe Almeida, president of Covidien's Medical Devices. He made the remark to investors at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Healthcare Conference in May. The deal will “enable Covidien to significantly expand its presence in the vascular market and is in line with our strategy of becoming a leading partner with vascular surgeons, neurosurgeons, interventional cardiologists and interventional radiologists,” says Richard Meelia, Covidien's president and CEO. Covidien will pay $22.50 per share for all of ev3's outstanding shares, representing a 19 percent premium on ev3's pre-announcement share price. The boards of both companies have unanimously approved the transaction, which is expected to close by July 31.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Merck Charts China Expansion With Sinopharm Deal The Burrill Report submits: By Michael FitzhughMerck (MRK) and China's largest pharmaceutical and health company, Sinopharm, are collaborating to increase access to and sales of human papillomavirus and other selected vaccines in that country, one of the world’s fastest growing pharmaceutical markets. The partners signed a statement of mutual intent to cement the deal and say they’ll also discuss the potential for promoting and marketing Merck’s pharmaceutical products in China. Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
FDA to Inspect Egg Producers The FDA will conduct hundreds of inspections of egg producers to ensure they adhere to newly implemented safety rules in the wake of the massive egg recall linked to a salmonella outbreak. online.wsj.com |
Cleveland BioLabs' Unfounded Fear of Dilution M.E. Garza submits: The last time shares of Cleveland Biolabs (CBLI) went on a run like they've seen the past few weeks, the company hit shareholders with news that it was raising money, and diluting shares. You can't blame cautious investors for over-reacting to news three days ago that the Company had filed a registration to "sell, from time to time, up to 7,808,859 shares of Common Stock on behalf of Selling Shareholders." After the news, the stock price declined 4.57%, but if the language used in these legal filings were written in plain english, investors would have realized that this filing is not indicative of future dillution. This is a smart company making sure that anyone holding a Series B Class of Warrants that were issued in a private placement back in 2007 has to pay if they want to sell them now that the stock is trading above $5.99. If the Company hadn't filed this registration, then theoretically, the shares underlying these warrants could be sold at a higher price (hint: much higher prices are expected) without direct proceeds to the Company.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Shake your iPad, Burn Calories - Video Health Monitor Network Shake, Shakes It Away: "Laugh Out Loud For Health" iPad App Adds Humor And Fun To Calorie Counting feedproxy.google.com |