Stryker And St. Jude Acquisitions Signal Year-end Uptick In Device M&A

The M&A market for medtech companies had already slowly started to climb off the mat after last year's collapse when Stryker and St. Jude Medical closed on two $1 billion-plus acquisitions. Still, Stryker's bid to acquire the neurovascular business of Boston Scientific and St. Jude's offer for structural heart disease company AGA Medical demonstrate how deep strategic acquirers are willing to dig to establish themselves in new markets.The combined price tag of $2.7 billion guaranteed that 2010 will be a better year for medical device mergers and acquisitions than 2009, at least as measured by disclosed prices paid.