STEVE INSKEEP, host: The business news starts with a $25 billion bid for a troubled company.      Guidant Corporation makes implantable devices to treat heart trouble, but      the company has trouble of its own.  It's been battered by product      recalls, lawsuits and investigations.  Now Boston Scientific is offering      to pay $25 billion to acquire Guidant.  NPR's Chris Arnold explains why.</s>CHRIS ARNOLD reporting: The bid by Boston Scientific is a surprise move to snatch Guidant away      from a competitor.  Johnson & Johnson had first struck a deal to buy the      company, but then a 21-year-old man died after his Guidant defibrillator      malfunctioned and it came to light that Guidant knew about potential      problems with the product but still continued to sell the device.  Since      June, Guidant has recalled their issued warnings on more than 200,000      pacemakers and defibrillators.  It's now being investigated by the      Justice Department. That's clearly hurt sales of Guidant's implantable      defibrillators.</s>Mr. ROBERT FAULKNER (Managing Director, JMP Securities): Guidant's      market share has been cut by almost 25 percent.  It's a huge impact.</s>ARNOLD: Robert Faulkner is a managing director at JMP Securities.  He      thinks the deal would be good for medical device maker Boston Scientific      because it doesn't have enough new products and this would change that.      When Guidant's problems emerged, Johnson & Johnson sharply reduced its      offer for Guidant. That created an opening says Boston Scientific senior      vice president Paul Donovan.</s>Mr. PAUL DONOVAN (Senior Vice President, Boston Scientific): Definitely      the situation with J&J did create an opportunity.  We moved on the      opportunity.</s>ARNOLD: Boston Scientific has now outbid Johnson & Johnson by $3      billion. Chris Arnold, NPR News, Boston.
Boston Scientific offers $25 billion to acquire Guidant Corporation, which makes Guidant has been battered by product recalls, lawsuits, and investigations. Monday, its shares climbed 10 percent on the news.