Edwards Lifesciences to get $4.2 billion in cash for sale of critical-care group

By Tomi Kilgore

Becton Dickinson to fund deal with $1 billion in cash on hand and $3.2 billion in debt

Shares of Edwards Lifesciences Corp. got a boost premarket Monday, after the medical-technologies company announced an agreement to sell its critical-care product group to Becton Dickinson & Co. in a cash deal valued at $4.2 billion.

As a result of the deal, Edwards said it is no longer pursuing the spinoff of the critical-care business, which was announced in December.

Edwards' stock (EW) rose 2.7% in premarket trading, while Becton Dickinson shares (BDX) tacked on 1.9%.

Edwards said it plans to use the proceeds from the sale of the business to fund investments for growth, such as in technologies for aortic, mitral, tricuspid and pulmonic patients; and therapeutic areas for interventional heart failure.

"Edwards' underlying rationale for separating Critical Care remains the same: we are laser focused on pursuing a strategy centered on structural heart disease," said Edwards' Chief Executive Bernard Zovighian.

The deal is expected to close by the end of 2024.

Becton Dickinson said it would fund the deal with $1 billion in cash and $3.2 billion in new debt.

"Critical Care expands BD's portfolio of smart connected care solutions with its growing set of leading monitoring technologies, advanced AI-enabled clinical decision tools and robust innovation pipeline that complement BD's existing technologies serving operating rooms and intensive care units," said BD Chief Executive Tom Polen.

Edwards' stock has run up 14% year to date through Friday, while BD shares have lost 4.9% and the S&P 500 index has advanced 10.6%.

-Tomi Kilgore

This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

06-03-24 0725ET

Copyright (c) 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.