Guidant Corp. and Johnson & Johnson have reached a new agreement whereby J&J will acquire Guidant for $24.2 billion in fully diluted equity value. The boards of directors of both companies have unanimously approved the revised J&J offer and the Guidant board of directors recommended that Guidant shareholders vote in favor of the revised merger agreement at the scheduled January 31 shareholder meeting. “This agreement with J&J provides significant financial value and ce...