For all of the sound and fury about Boston Scientific's (NYSE:BSX) efforts to finally acquire Guidant (NYSE:GDT), I still think it's Abbott (NYSE:ABT) that has the most to gain from the deal. Sure, Abbott will be extending a loan to BSX and buying shares, but Abbott is getting a big boost to its vascular business without really restricting its options to grow other parts of the company.

And a little more growth would be nice right about now. Adjusted revenue rose about 5% in the first quarter, with pharmaceutical sales growth of about 2%, but better performances in medical devices and diabetes care. Readers should also be aware that the company modified a prior distribution agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim, which led to lower reported sales (but higher margins).

On the drug front, products like Kaletra and TriCor grew nicely, but HUMIRA is still the most powerful factor here. Accordingly, trials for new indications like Crohn's disease, psoriasis, and colitis could play a meaningful role in overall pharmaceutical growth over the next few years. That's also part of a good news/bad news situation -- HUMIRA hasn't maxed out yet, but the drug pipeline isn't exactly strong, and that rates as a risk factor.

On the device side of things, sales were up on the launch of a new vascular sealing device. That could soon look like small potatoes, though. Abbott is acquiring Guidant's vascular business, and with it, both a good sales force and a new product (the Xience drug-coated stent) that should launch in Europe this year.

Abbott is one of those hybrid drug/device companies that trade in the gray area between stocks like Motley Fool Inside Value pick Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and Medtronic (NYSE:MDT). Still, both the drug and device businesses are high-margin efforts that can more than earn back their cost of capital. What's more, I don't think there's anything that's really limiting or restricting Abbott from improving its drug pipeline with an acquisition or licensing agreement.

Abbott has shown a pretty reliable trend of getting cheap enough to buy at least once a year -- regularly dipping below $40 a share in six of the past seven years. Of course, the downside to that is that the stock really hasn't gone anywhere in those seven years. I don't necessarily think Abbott is going to grow again like it did in the late 80s and early 90s, but I'm optimistic about what the Guidant vascular business could do for the company, and today's price doesn't seem all that expensive.

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Fool contributor Stephen Simpson has no financial interest in any stocks mentioned (that means he's neither long nor short the shares).