PANDEMIC PUNT. Permira is looking for a post-pandemic bargain. The private equity group is in talks to buy U.S.-listed medical devices manufacturer LivaNova for over $80 a share, which would value the company, which makes heart valves and nerve therapy systems for chronic depression and epilepsy, at around $4 billion, according to the Financial Times. The news on Thursday lifted shares in LivaNova by 3% to $78.50. Convincing investors to accept an offer at that price could be tricky. Activist shareholder PrimeStone, which revealed a 2.2% stake in the company last October, argued that the business could be worth more than $100 a share, when valued according to the sum of its parts. LivaNova’s share price has been weighed down by Covid-19 as hospitals throughout the world have cancelled non-emergency procedures. But an offer at the mooted $80 area would be worth less than the group’s share price before the pandemic. With vaccines being rolled out, and countries emerging from lockdown, LivaNova may be better off waiting for a higher price. (By Aimee Donnellan)