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 a J & J; proposal that Guidant had said offered a speedier route to completion after more than 13 months of contentious dealmaking.
