J&J accepts offer from Cardinal Health for Cordis unit

Healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson has formally accepted a $1.94-billion offer to sell its Cordis heart devices unit to Cardinal Health.

The offer was initially made March 1. The companies expect the deal to close toward the end of 2015.

The Cordis business, which is based in Fremont, Calif., had 2014 revenue of about $780 million on heart devices such as stents and catheters. The U.S. is its biggest single market, but 70% of total sales come from outside the U.S.

Cordis has operations in more than 50 countries, including China, Japan, Germany, Italy, France, the U.K. and Brazil.

Cardinal Health had previously said that it expects the deal to add more than 20 cents per share to its fiscal 2017 adjusted earnings.

Cardinal Health Inc. expects cost savings of more than $100 million annually by the end of fiscal 2018. The Dublin, Ohio-based company said Monday that it plans to finance the deal with a combination of $1 billion in new debt and existing cash.

Johnson & Johnson is based in New Brunswick, N.J.