Plant quiet on takeover rumours

MANAGEMENT at the Clonmel-based Guidant Ireland is remaining tight-lipped on reports from the US that healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson is to complete a $24 billion takeover of the worldwide Guidant Corporation.

“It has always been the company’s global policy not to comment on rumours,” said a spokesman for the plant said.

The New York Times reported on Wednesday that Johnson & Johnson is in “advanced negotiation” with Guidant Corporation, headquartered in Indianapolis, for a takeover of the company, a world leader in the manufacture of heart defibrillator pacemakers.

Guidant also manufactures mesh cylinders that keep blood vessels open after surgery has removed clots.

The paper also reported that the two firms are negotiating a stock and cash deal in which Johnson & Johnson would buy Guidant for more than $75 a share, which would total over $24 million for the company.

Speculation about the takeover has seen a rise in Guidant shares on the American market in the last few days to over $72.

Guidant, which was set up in Clonmel six years ago, employs more than 1,000 people at its Ardgeeha plant on the outskirts of the town.

Last June, the company announced plans for a major extension that would almost double the workforce within three years.

According to the firm, recruitment will start in the middle of next year and the expectation is that 500 jobs will be in place by 2008 and a further 500 will follow as the expanded operation continues to develop.

Johnson & Johnson already has four IDA-supported companies in Ireland including the ALZA Ireland plant in Cashel.