corporate america at its finest

For the past few months Guidant, a company that manufactures implantable hearts, has been working out agreements with Johnson & Johnson, to sell their shares and all the rights to the company for a measley $25.4 billion dollars. As of today however, Johnson & Johnson may have been beat out by fellow competetors in the growing medical field, Boston Scientific, who offered to pay 3 billion more for the company than Johnson & Johnson. Though a tempting offer, Guidant realizes their concequences. Because of previous promises and the beginning stages of the sale to Johnson & Johnson have already begun, if they affept the offer from Boston Scientific, the company will be left to pay $650 million for the breakup fee.

When all is said and done, this merger will be similar to the 1954 merger of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motorcar Company to create American Motors. At the time the two companies were two of the beggest independent american automotive makers. The field was booming, similarly to the current medical field, and showed no signs of slowing down. during the time, auto superpoweres were swallowing up the weaker smaller companies and merging 3 or 4 companies into one. American Motors lasted 30 years. Buisness was booming in the mis 70's, however began slowly declining, add poor financial planners and lack of techological advances, and they were soon bankrupt.