Boston Scientific To Pay $600 Mln To Johnson & Johnson Over Guidant Settlement

(RTTNews) - Boston Scientific Corp. (BSX) announced the settlement of the breach of merger agreement lawsuit brought by Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) against Guidant Corp., stemming from its acquisition of Guidant.

Boston Scientific has agreed to make aggregate payments totaling $600 million to Johnson & Johnson, which had agreed to permanently dismiss its action without acknowledgment of liability by Guidant.

In the lawsuit filed in 2006, Johnson & Johnson alleged that Guidant breached the merger agreement it had with Johnson & Johnson, and sought more than $7 billion in damages. Guidant disputed the allegations.

Boston Scientific expects to record a pre-tax litigation-related charge of approximately $600 million within its fourth quarter 2014 results as a recognized subsequent event. This charge will be excluded from its non-GAAP measures of adjusted income that were previously announced.

In connection with the settlement, Boston Scientific has also agreed not to bring patent infringement or other claims related to Johnson & Johnson's S.M.A.R.T., S.M.A.R.T. Control, and S.M.A.R.T. Flex stent products.