Abbott completes St. Jude Medical acquisition

"Abbott has a strong track record of successfully integrating dozens of businesses on a global scale and accelerating growth," said Miles D. White, chairman and chief executive officer, Abbott. "The addition of St. Jude Medical strengthens our global medical device leadership while offering innovative products to address more areas of care, in more physicians' offices and hospitals around the world." Pursuant to the terms of the merger agreement between the companies, upon completion of the acquisition, St. Jude Medical became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Abbott. St. Jude Medical's strong positions in fast-growing areas such as atrial fibrillation, heart failure, structural heart and chronic pain complement Abbott's positions in coronary interventions and mitral valve disease. Together, the company will compete in nearly every area of the USD 30 billion cardiovascular market and hold the No. 1 or 2 positions across large and high-growth cardiovascular device markets.