Stryker Makes Takeover Offer for Rival Boston Scientific Corp.

It was an interesting day for medical device makers Stryker and Boston Scientific Corp.

While one saw its shares explode on the news that Stryker approached Boston Scientific with a takeover offer, the other saw its shares decline.

Boston Scientific was the one to see gains after news reports, including one from the Wall Street Journal, revealed that Stryker has made an offer for its rival.

No offer amount was revealed and it was not clear if Boston Scientific Corp. was welcoming the approach.
A spokesperson for Boston Scientific said the company does not comment on rumors and speculation.

If the deal were to happen it would create a combined company with a market value of over $110 billion. It would also be the biggest deal in 2018.

Shares of Boston Scientific closed up over 7% while Stryker closed down a little over 5%.

Analyst Lawrence Biegelsen of Wells Fargo Securities wrote in a note, “If this news is accurate, it would create a roughly $24 billion medtech company, which would place it behind only Medtronic (MDT.N) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) in total device revenue.”

“For all the medtech companies, in order to remain and to become a more valuable supplier to their hospital customers, it is really more and more important to be able to offer … a much more comprehensive product portfolio that sells into all different parts of the hospital under different specialties,” remarked Morningstar analyst Debbie Wang.

Disclaimer: We have no position in Stryker Corporation (NYSE: SYK) nor Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) and have not been compensated for this article.