ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, January 23, 1996 TAG: 9601230065
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: NEW YORK
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Johnson & Johnson signaled full speed ahead Monday for its $1.8 billion purchase of medical device maker Cordis Corp., ending weeks of uncertainty about whether the deal would go through.
Cordis shares soared 8 percent on the news.
J&J, the world's largest and most diversified health care products company, spurred worries at the end of last month about its $109-a-share acquisition, saying it needed an extra month to go over Cordis' books. J&J refused to say what it was looking for, and Cordis shares plunged 11 percent in one day as speculators dumped the stock.
On Monday, the new deadline for J&J to back out, it announced completion of its review. Cordis shares gained $7.75 to $107.50 on the Nasdaq by late afternoon, exceeding their price before the extended review by $1.
Although J&J still wouldn't talk about what it found, the two companies announced Monday that Cordis shareholders will meet Feb. 23 to give final approval to the deal.
J&J wants access to Cordis' angioplasty systems to complement its own products to treat heart disease.
In angioplasty, tiny balloons are snaked at the end of a tube into arteries serving the heart and inflated to squash fatty buildups that can close those arteries and cause heart attacks.
LENGTH: Short : 35 linesby CNB