Deals
J&J to Purchase Abbott’s Eye Surgery Unit for $4.33 Billion
- Unit makes contact lenses, equipment for cataract surgeries
- Abbott clearing space for St. Jude, Alere acquisitions
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Johnson & Johnson agreed to buy Abbott Laboratories’ eye-surgery equipment unit for $4.33 billion, moving the health-care giant toward its goal of boosting its three core businesses.
The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017, the companies said Friday in separate statements. The unit, called Abbott Medical Optics, makes equipment used in surgeries to repair cataracts and in Lasik procedures to improve vision, as well as eye drops and solutions. It generated $1.13 billion in sales for Abbott in 2015.