Medtronic finalizes Covidien buy for $50B

Medtronic completed its acquisition of Covidien in lockstep with the Irish High Court’s sanctioning of the deal. The two companies now exist under the name Medtronic plc, with executive offices in Ireland.

Medtronic announced in June 2014 that it planned to buy Covidien for $43 billion. The final cash-and-stock transaction totaled almost $50 billion. The deal allowed the two companies to combine a variety of cardiovascular product lines and services and move headquarters to Ireland, which has a much lower corporate tax rate than the U.S.

Covidien and Medtronic shares ceased trading on the New York Stock Exchange at the close of business Jan. 26. Trading of Medtronic plc shares under the symbol "MDT" should begin Jan. 27.

Medtronic plc has more than 85,000 employees working in 160 countries. While the principal executive offices are in Ireland, its operational headquarters remained in Minneapolis.