Federal antitrust regulators are closely scrutinizing the proposed $25 billion tie-up of local medical device-maker St. Jude Medical and its much larger acquirer, Chicago-based health care products maker Abbott Laboratories.
After market-close Tuesday, the companies alerted investors that they had received a “second request” for information about their proposed deal from the Federal Trade Commission, which regulates anticompetitive mergers and acquisitions.
Although such investigations have the potential to delay deals — or in extreme cases, derail them — Abbott and St. Jude Medical said in e-mails that the companies continue to work toward closing their deal by the end of the year, as previously announced.
