Medtronic to Buy Covidien in $42.9B Deal

U.S. medical device maker Medtronic Inc said on Sunday it would buy Covidien Plc for $42.9 billion in cash and stock, moving its executive base to Ireland in the latest transaction to seek lower corporate tax rates abroad.

Medtronic said it would keep its operational headquarters in Minneapolis and pledged $10 billion in U.S. technology investments over the next 10 years.

News of the transaction first emerged on Saturday. The combined company would prove a close competitor to the medical device business of Johnson & Johnson Co.

(Reporting by Michele Gershberg; Editing by Dan Grebler)