Medtronic to buy stent maker Invatec

Medtronic said Monday that it will pay up to $500 million for Invatec, a company that makes medical devices to treat cardiovascular disease, The Associated Press reports.

The medical technology company will pay $350 million initially to Invatec, which makes stents, angioplasty balloons and related therapies. A stent is a mesh-wire tube used to hold arteries open after they are surgically cleared of blockages.

[Wall Street Journal]