Shepard bows out of merger talks

RIVERSIDE, Ill. (Jan. 29)—Shepard Medical Products Inc. has ended merger talks with Sparta Surgical Corp. to pursue other alternatives. The maker of Eagle latex, nitrile and vinyl gloves withdrew from negotiations because "I felt it was not in my best interests at this time and wanted something more fruitful," according to Chris Wright, founder, owner and CEO of Shepard Medical. He said the company is still looking for a partner. Shepard, which has been making gloves for 15 years, and Sparta had signed a non-binding letter of intent to merge. Under the proposed deal, Sparta became the surviving corporation and Shepard would receive about 55 percent of the outstanding common stock and $500,000 in cash. While the merger with Sparta won't become a reality, Wright said "something else could still happen down the road. We'll continue to do the best job we can and someone may come to us and find us interesting. But we're not hunting."