St. Jude Medical buying Thoratec for $3.4 billion in move to expand heart device portfolio

St. Jude Medical Inc. will buy Thoratec Corp. for about $3.4 billion in cash, adding more medical devices aimed at heart conditions to its portfolio.

St. Paul, Minnesota-based St. Jude will pay $63.50 for Pleasanton, California-based Thoratec, a 30 percent premium to its closing price on Tuesday. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter.

St. Jude focuses on heart devices, including implantable defibrillators and pacemakers. Thoratec's key product is an implantable device that helps patients' hearts pump more blood.

The deal allows St. Jude access to new markets totaling more than $1 billion that are expected to grow about 10 percent annually, the company said.