m&a cycle in the medical device sector

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/reuters/MTFH13811_2010-06-01_16-33-37_N0193836.htm The deal stands to presage a huge wave of deals among large medical device players that are cash rich and starved for growth, while many smaller companies have products in attractive areas, said Jason Mills, an analyst with Canaccord Genuity.

"You're going to see the most robust M&A cycle in the medical device sector over the next 18 months that you've seen in this industry for over 15 years," Mills said.

Mills named Edwards Lifesciences, Thoratec Corp , HeartWare International, Volcano Corp and ResMed as among the potential targets.

Covidien said it expected the ev3 deal would hurt earnings in the near term, and its shares fell 1.7 percent to $41.68 on the New York Stock Exchange. Ev3 shares jumped 17.5 percent to $22.23 on Nasdaq.