• A Swedish med-tech company with operations in the cardiac surgery and vascular surgery markets has agreed to acquire Datascope (Montvale, New Jersey) for $865 million cash. Getinge (Stockholm, Sweden) said the $53-a-share offer price represents a premium of 33.6% to Datascope's volume weighted average price of $39.67 for the three-month period ended June 3, the day before Datascope's board said it was exploring "strategic options" for the company. Getinge said it wants to build its cardiovascular division into a "world leading business" focused on cardiac surgery, vascular intervention and cardiac assist. Getinge said it intends to refinance part of the credit facility through a new share issue following the closing of the acquisition. The new share issue is expected to raise roughly SEK 1 billion and is being guaranteed by Carl Bennet, a company owned by Getinge's chairman and principal shareholder, Carl Bennet.

• Med-tech giant Medtronic (Minneapolis) has its sights set on a Canadian company that uses freezing to treat heart arrhythmias – and has agreed to pay $380 million in cash to buy it. The company said it would make a takeover bid for all of the outstanding shares of CryoCath (Montreal) for C$8.75 a share in cash, or $380 million (C$400 million). The CryoCath board has recommended that its shareholders accept the offer, and the acquisition is expected to close in 4Q08. CryoCath agreed to a non-solicitation covenant, subject to "fiduciary out," superior proposal and right-to-match provisions and a $13.6 million break-up fee in "certain circumstances," Medtronic said. CryoCath makes cryotherapy products to treat cardiac arrhythmias. Its flagship product, the Arctic Front, is a minimally invasive cryo-balloon catheter designed to treat atrial fibrillation (AF), an emerging $2 billion market opportunity.

• Memry (Bethel, Connecticut) reported the closing of its merger with SAES Getters (Milan, Italy) and SAES Devices, which was disclosed in August. The purchase price was $78.4 million in cash, resulting in a consideration of $2.53 a share of Memry common stock. Memry said its CEO, Robert Belcher, has retired and Dean Tulumaris, who has served as president/COO of Memry since May 2006, has been named CEO. Memry provides design support, engineering, development, and manufacturing services to the medical device and other industries using its technologies. Its major products include stent components, catheter components, laparoscopic sub-assemblies and complex multi-lumen, multi-layer extrusions used for guide wires, catheter shafts and other delivery systems.