What happened
Is Shockwave Medical (SWAV 0.10%) about to be sold to a well-capitalized peer? Following a media report to that effect, investors certainly seemed to think so. They pushed the medical device maker's share price up by over 10% Friday, providing a sharp contrast to the essentially sideways movement of the S&P 500 index.
So what
Citing unidentified "people with knowledge of the matter," Bloomberg reported Friday morning that Boston Scientific (BSX 5.68%) has expressed interest in acquiring Shockwave.
The two companies certainly have synergy, as both are makers of medical devices. Shockwave designs and sells instruments that perform intravascular lithotripsy (IVL), a process in which sound waves are used to break up the calcium that can harden blood vessels.
The article did not specify how much Boston Scientific is willing to pay for Shockwave. It might not be advisable to wait long, as the latter's stock has experienced a sharp upward rise of late. It continues to benefit from a recent proposed new rule from the government's Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) covering new payment codes for IVL.
Now what
Neither Shockwave nor Boston Scientific has yet commented officially on the report.
The latter had nearly $1.1 billion on its books at the end of 2022. However, its long-term debt totaled almost $9.3 billion at that point.
Regardless, Boston Scientific has demonstrated over the years that it's more than willing to grow by acquisition, at times spectacularly. In 2006, it bought out Guidant for over $27 billion. At the moment, Shockwave's market cap stands at slightly under $10.5 billion.
