Johnson & Johnson indicated Wednesday it might cancel its planned $25.4 billion acquisition of struggling medical device maker Guidant Corp. even as federal regulators gave conditional approval for the deal.
J & J; said recent product recalls and regulatory investigations at Guidant had had a “material adverse effect” on the Indianapolis-based company and that it was not required to close the acquisition. J & J; said it was talking with Guidant about restructuring terms of the proposed buyout but that no agreement had been reached.
