Boston Scientific has made a formal $25 billion cash and stock offer to acquire Guidant in a move to woo the medical-device maker away from existing merger partner Johnson & Johnson (J&J).
The purchase of Guidant would give Boston Scientific access to the $10 billion market for devices that help regulate heart beats - such as pacemakers and defibrillators - that were the main drivers in J&J's bid for Guidant.
Boston Scientific's formal offer has the same price tag as a preliminary proposal it made last month, but the new proposal includes a protection against a fluctuation in Boston Scientific's stock price.
Boston Scientific set a January 19th deadline for Guidant to respond to the definitive offer.
Boston Scientific also forged a side deal to sell two Guidant units to Abbott Laboratories for $4.3 billion to help ease regulatory review of the deal.
The sale of those units is conditional on Boston Scientific completing the purchase of Guidant. Under the agreement, Abbott would pay $3.8 billion upfront, plus two installments of $250 million each upon regulatory approval of certain products.
Boston Scientific said its bid represents a 12 per cent premium over the value of Johnson & Johnson's $22.3 billion agreement to buy Guidant.
In November, Johnson & Johnson cut the value of its takeover offer following safety concerns and litigation over Guidant's heart products.