Guidant To Buy Sulzer Pacemaker Unit

Medical device manufacturer Guidant Corp. will purchase the Intermedics pacemaker unit of Sulzer Medica Ltd. for up to $850 million. The transaction is expected to be complete towards the end of the year.

At the heart of the deal, analysts said, is a battle for dominance in the technology-driven market for pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs). Guidant is the world's largest maker of ICDs, with roughly 45% of an estimated $1.2 billion market.