Rumors about Abbott Laboratories Inc. 's acquisition of struggling European cardiovascular device company Jomed NV [See Deal] were all over this year's Paris Course on Revascularization (PCR) meeting, held in early May just weeks before the news officially broke. One report had Abbott paying a significant premium for the troubled company, well more than it's estimated break-up value of $75 million. Another report had Abbott and Jomed doing a three-way deal with vulnerable plaque start-up Volcano Therapeutics Inc. , with the latter walking off with the intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) business Jomed got when it acquired EndoSonics Corp. a couple of years ago [See Deal].
Of course, Abbott's eventual price paid, nearly $71 million plus the assumption of some liability (more than $20 million), was...