Guidant Has New Deal

"If he was the stumbling block in getting this deal done, he got pushed aside so the deal could get done," says John Putnam, an analyst at Stanford Financial, in an interview. Stanford Financial doesn't hold shares in either company.

"Over the past year, I have become more convinced than ever that this is a strategic opportunity that will propel our companies for leadership in the cardiovascular space in a way that neither company could've achieved independently," Cornelius said during a joint conference call with J&J.

He added that the agreement "appropriately reflects the business challenges we have experienced during this period."