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Kimberly-Clark expands
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December 23, 1998: 2:49 p.m. ET
Personal-care products maker buying Ballard Medical for $764M in stock
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Kimberly-Clark Corp. will acquire Ballard Medical Products for $764 million in stock, the company said Wednesday.
Kimberly-Clark (KMB), whose brands include Scott, Kleenex, Huggies and Kotex, said the acquisition of Ballard Medical Products (BMP), a leading maker of disposable medical products, will boost Kimberly-Clark's professional health- care business with new technologies and products.
The combined health-care operation is expected to have sales of about $700 million in 1999, and the acquisition will increase Kimberly-Clark's professional health-care business outside the United States by about 40 percent.
Under the agreement, Ballard shareholders will receive Kimberly-Clark stock valued at $25 for each share of Ballard Medical common.
The boards of both companies unanimously approved the transaction, which is tax-free to Ballard shareholders.
Draper, Utah-based Ballard's products includes Trach Care, the number one brand in respiratory suction catheters. The company sells more than 80 percent of all closed suction catheters used in U.S. hospitals.
Forbes magazine has named Ballard one of the "200 Best Small Companies in America" for the last three consecutive years.
Separately, Kimberly-Clark said that it has repurchased 2.6 million shares of the 25 million share repurchase program authorized by its board in October. This brings to 18.1 million the number of shares the company has repurchased since the beginning of the year.
Kimberly-Clark was up 7/8 at 54-1/8 in afternoon trading. Ballard Medical Products was down 1-1/8 at 24. 
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