Becton Dickinson to Acquire Edwards Lifesciences' Critical Care Product Group for $4.2 Billion in Cash

By Denny Jacob

Becton Dickinson & Co. agreed to acquire an Edwards Lifesciences unit for $4.2 billion in cash, putting it near the top of its many M&A deals.

The medical technology company has made 113 deals dating back to March 1992, with around five with a price tag in the billions, according to data from FactSet.

Becton Dickinson will acquire Edwards' Critical Care product group, which focuses on advanced patient monitoring with artificial intelligence algorithms and is known for inventing the hemodynamic monitoring category.

Becton Dickinson Chief Executive Tom Polen said the acquisition increases penetration across new and existing hospital customers and noted that the transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to all key financial measures.

Edwards Lifesciences Chief Executive Bernard Zovighian said selling Critical Care allows for the company to pursue a strategy centered on structural heart disease.

Becton Dickinson expects to fund the deal in a combination of $1 billion in cash and $3.2 billion of new debt.

The transaction is expected to close before the end of the calendar year.

Critical Care will operate as a separate business unit within Becton Dickinson's medical segment upon the close.

Critical Care has about 4,500 employees and generated more than $900 million in revenue in 2023.

Write to Denny Jacob at denny.jacob@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 03, 2024 07:18 ET (11:18 GMT)

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