Boston Scientific Finalizes Quarter-Billion-Dollar Deal for Bard EP

Boston Scientific announced that it had completed the acquisition of Bard EP, the electrophysiology segment of CR Bard. In total, the company paid $275 million for Bard EP.With its latest acquisition, Boston Scientific will gain a foothold in the rapidly-growing electrophysiology market. Product lines acquired include diagnostic catheters, cardiac catheter ablation technology, cardiac mapping devices, therapeutic catheters and cardiovascular recording equipment. In total, Boston Scientific says the deal will give it access to a market with a total cap of $2.5 billion.While this is good news for Boston Scientific, the company is still facing some difficulties. Q3 revenue was $1.7 billion, relatively flat compared to Q3 of 2012. In total, net earnings at the company were in the negative to the tune of $5 million. However, both these results are improvements after multiple years of layoffs and reorganizations. That said, the company will lay off up to 1,500 employees during Q4."Completing this transaction is an important part of our global strategy to grow and transform our EP business," noted Pete Sommerness, general manager of Electrophysiology at Boston Scientific. "We believe that the complementary capabilities that this transaction brings, including expertise in capital equipment sales and service, will enable us to offer more complete solutions to help electrophysiologists diagnose and treat patients with cardiac arrhythmias."