J&J to pump another $13B into its MedTech business with Shockwave deal

By TOM MURPHY
AP Health Writer

Johnson & Johnson is pumping more money into heart care with a roughly $13 billion deal for Shockwave Medical, which specializes in technology that helps open clogged arteries.

The health care giant said Friday that it will spend $335 in cash for each share of Shockwave. The total deal value includes cash acquired.

The deal has already been approved by the boards of directors from both companies.

Founded in 2009, Shockwave focuses on intravascular lithotripsy technology that uses sonic pressure waves to crack calcium lesions in arteries and restore blood flow. It’s similar to a technique used to break up kidney stones. The soundwave emitters are placed inside angioplasty catheters to reach the calcified areas of the artery.

Shockwave’s technology is used to treat coronary artery and peripheral artery disease.

The company’s revenue jumped 49% last year to $730 million.

J&J Chief Financial Officer Joseph Wolk told analysts on Friday that the market for this technology is still “in the early days of scaling up.” He said he sees room for more growth both in and outside the United States, and the company expects annual sales to reach at least $1 billion.

J&J will use cash on hand and debt to pay for the deal. Financing costs will dilute the company’s adjusted earnings by 10 cents per share this year and 17 cents in 2025, Wolk said.

The deal comes more than a year after J&J said it would spend $16 billion to buy another cardiovascular technology company, Abiomed. Both acquisitions are expected to bolster J&J’s MedTech or medical device division.

That’s one of two remaining segments, along with pharmaceuticals, that the company is focused on after splitting off its consumer health division that sells Band Aids and beauty products.

J&J’s Shockwave deal still needs approvals from regulators and shareholders. The companies expect to close the acquisition by the middle of this year.

Shares of New Brunswick, New Jersey-based J&J edged up 32 cents to $152.82 after markets opened Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, of which J&J is a component, also rose slightly.

Shockwave Medical Inc., which is based in Santa Clara, California, climbed more than $5 to $325.50.