Abbott and Boston Scientific acquisition of Guidant under scrutiny of EU

The European Commission (EC) has launched an anti-trust investigation into the acquisition of Guidant by Boston Scientific and Abbott Pharmaceuticals.

Boston Scientific told EU regulators in late February that it intends to share medical-equipment producer Guidant with Abbott Pharmaceuticals, following a bidding war with Johnson & Johnson in January.

But EC regulators are refusing to allow the acquisition to take place under simplified merger procedures, AFX reported. Instead its investigation into the company will not be complete until March 30th.

If significant concerns are raised over the merger, the commission could delay proceedings further by holding a four-month enquiry into the transaction.

In an attempt to smooth over anti-trust regulators, Boston Scientific agreed to allow Abbott Pharmaceuticals to buy up Guidant’s endovascular and vascular intervention work. It will also share the company’s Guidant’s drug-eluting stent systems with Boston.

Last week Boston and Guidant announced that they had filed merger details with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Special shareholder meetings will be held by both firms on March 31st to discuss and vote on the acquisition.

Boston has agreed to pay $27 billion for Guidant.

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