St. Jude Medical to Buy Thoratec for $3.4 Billion

St. Jude Medical Inc. has agreed to buy Thoratec Corp. for $3.4 billion in cash in a move aimed at growing its heart-failure device business.

The offer of $63.50 a share is a 10% premium to Thoratec's closing price on Tuesday and a 35.4% premium to its closing price on Friday, before the deal talks were reported.

St. Jude made heart failure a key focus after its remote patient monitoring system CardioMEMS gained U.S. approval in 2014. St. Jude has said it expects revenue from the device to exceed $70 million this year.

Thoratec's heat failure devices, which include HeartMate ventricular assist systems, would allow St. Jude representatives to leverage their relationships with heart failure physicians and cardiac surgeons.

The deal is expected to add to St. Jude's per-share earnings and sales growth in 2016.

The agreement also includes a 30-day go-shop period, during which Thoratec can solicit other offers.

The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter.

Separately, both companies reported second-quarter results Wednesday.

St. Jude said its sales fell 2.6% to $1.41 billion but would have been up 6% excluding the impact of currency fluctuations.

The company reported a profit of $290 million, or $1.02 a share, up from $270 million, or 93 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding special items, per-share earnings were $1.03, down from $1.07 a share a year ago.

The company had forecast 99 cents to $1.01 a share in adjusted earnings.

Thoratec posted preliminary revenue between $128 million and $129 million for the quarter, helped by favorable trends in its North American HeartMate franchise.

Write to Chelsey Dulaney at [e-mail]

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