J&J-GUIDANT DISPUTE AFFECTS ABBOTT DEAL

Johnson & Johnson may abandon its $25.4 billion acquisition of Guidant because Guidant refuses to accept revised terms after it recalled faulty heart defibrillators in June, putting an Abbott Laboratories licensing deal that would be part of the merger on ice. Guidant failed to agree to a restructuring of the proposed transaction, New Brunswick, N.J.-based Johnson & Johnson said recently. Guidant, based in Indianapolis, recalled 109,000 defibrillators, setting off regulatory probes and giving competitors an advantage.

Chicago Tribune (http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0511030276nov03,1,5244881.story)