Boston Scientific Ups Bid for Guidant

Natick-based Boston Scientific appears to have the upper hand — at least for the moment — in the bidding war for control of medical device maker Guidant Corporation.

Guidant announced Tuesday that it had accepted Boston Scientific's new $27 billion offer, an increase of almost $3 billion over it's previous offer. The offer amounts to $80 per share. Boston Scientific's offer is funded and supported in part, by a partnership with pharmaceutical company Abbott Laboratories based in Illinois.

Johnson & Johnson now has five business days to counter Boston Scientific's offer.

For a look at the twists and turns in the deal we turn to Howard Anderson, professor of entrepreneurship at the MIT Sloan School of Management.