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 BOSTON (AP) - Medical device maker Guidant Corp. abandoned its support for a $24.2 billion acquisition bid from Johnson & Johnson in favor of Tuesday's far richer $27.2 billion offer from Boston Scientific Corp.
The shift came after Guidant's board had twice rejected higher offers from Boston Scientific in favor of J&J proposals that Guidant had said offered a speedier route to completion after more than 13 months of contentious dealmaking.
But Boston Scientific on Tuesday morning increased the stakes again by offering a price more than $2 billion richer than its previous bid last Thursday — a far higher increase than it had made in previous rounds. Boston Scientific added other enticements as well, and sought to sway Guidant's board in its favor by negotiating new terms in a third-party deal that will raise more cash for Boston Scientific to complete a Guidant acquisition.
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