Equity

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2011

Equity

Equity

14.   Equity.  On June 22, 2011, Merit completed an equity offering of 5,520,000 shares of common stock and received proceeds of approximately $87.8 million, which is net of approximately $4.6 million in underwriting discounts and commissions. We incurred approximately $127,000 in other direct costs in connection with this equity offering, which is included in accrued expenses at June 30, 2011 in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. In addition to these proceeds to common stock, we received approximately $6.8 million in cash related to the exercise of 981,881 of common stock options and approximately $2.9 million in tax benefits attributable to appreciation of these options exercised during the six months ended June 30, 2011.