Tyco to scoop up C.R. Bard

Another medical device manufacturer may soon join Tyco International. The multinational company, which has made a habit of gobbling up others, has signed a definitive agreement to buy C.R. Bard in a stock swap valued at about $3.2 billion, including the assumption of net debt, based on Tyco’s May 29 closing share price of $57. Bard shareholders will receive Tyco shares valued (just prior to the Bard shareholder vote) at $60 for each share of Bard, subject to an adjustment should Tyco stock trade below $50 during a measurement period. Bard, which had 2000 revenues of $1.1 billion, is a leading medical devices manufacturer of products used for vascular, urological, and oncological diagnosis and intervention as well as surgical specialties. Tyco’s holdings include US Surgical and Mallinckrodt.