Merger arbs Mis-Guidanted

This is supposed to be the best year in M&A since the stock market bubble burst. But try telling that to the hedge funds that make their money off mergers. The past two weeks have been murder for these funds as a handful of big deals have gone wobbly. Among the biggest is Johnson & Johnson’s $25bn takeover of medical-devices outfit Guidant. Since the deal was announced, Guidant had to suspend sales of some of its expensive heart defibrillators and recall others after finding a major malfunction...