Medtronic offers concessions to the EU for its $43-bn Covidien acquisition

US medical device maker Medtronic Inc has offered concessions for European regulatory approval for its $43-billion proposed acquisition of Irish rival Covidien Plc.

The European Commission, which did not elaborate, said that Medtronic submitted concessions last Friday and that the EU would decide by 28 November whether to grant anti-trust approval for the deal.

In June, Medtronic, the second-largest maker of medical devices, agreed to buy Covidien for $42.9 billion in cash and stock in order to relocate to Ireland and use profits it made outside of the US.

Medtronic, based in Minneapolis, had emphasised that the transaction is not an inversion deal where US pharmaceutical companies have recently acquired or attempted to buy overseas peers in order to domicile abroad and save on high taxes in their home country.

Medtronic, the world's fourth-largest medical device company, had last month announced that it would sell its vascular therapies product line and technology in order to win US antitrust approval.

Medtronic develops and manufactures devices and therapies to treat more than 30 chronic diseases, including heart failure, Parkinson's disease, urinary incontinence, down-syndrome, obesity, chronic pain, spinal disorders, and diabetes.

The 65-year old company operates in more than 140 countries, employs over 46,000 people and posted net income of  $3.5 billion in 2013 on revenues of $16.6 billion.

Covidien, the $42.4-billion healthcare products company, manufactures, distributes and services a diverse range of industry-leading product lines in three segments - medical devices, pharmaceuticals and medical supplies.

Formerly Tyco Healthcare, Dublin-based Covidien is one of the world's largest producers of bulk acetaminophen, the largest supplier of opioid pain medications in the US, and is among the top 10 generic pharmaceutical manufacturers in the US, based on prescriptions.

The company posted net profit of $1.7 billion in 2013 on revenues of $19.2 billion.

A merged company will have 87,000 employees, a presence in more than 150 countries, and have combined revenues of $13 billion from outside the US, of which $3.7 billion will be from emerging markets.

The deal will also bring in annual pre-tax cost synergies of at least $850 million by the end of fiscal year 2018.

The proposed acquisition requires regulatory clearances in the US, the EU, China and certain other countries and Medtronic expects to close the deal by early 2015.