- The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating if acquisitions by Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) limited competition in ventilator manufacturing, WSJ reports, which adds that the company has received a civil subpoena from the DoJ requesting more information.
- The probe reportedly is centered on two acquisitions: when Covidien PLC, a device maker that sold ventilators, bought Newport Medical Instruments, a small manufacturer of ventilator systems, in 2012 and Medtronic's acquisition of Covidien for nearly $50B nearly three years later, inheriting Newport in the process.
- The scramble for ventilators due to a demand surge from the pandemic generated criticism that industry consolidation - including the Covidien-Newport transaction - was partly to blame for a supply squeeze and an example of federal antitrust enforcers not doing enough to protect competition.
- Medtronic has ramped up production of ventilators and partnered with Foxconn in June to increase output.