LONDON (Bloomberg) - Bermuda-based Covidien Ltd., the medical- instruments maker spun off from Tyco International Ltd. last year, agreed to buy Tissue Science Laboratories plc. for almost twice its market value to expand in tissue repair.

Covidien's UK unit will pay 103.5 pence in cash for each Tissue Science share, valuing the Aldershot, England-based company at £38 million ($76.5 million), Covidien said yesterday in a statement distributed by Business Wire. Tissue Science closed at 55 pence in London on Tuesday.

Tissue Science, founded in 1996, produces pig-based collagen sheets for use in mending hernias. The company also makes products for grafting bone, blood vessels and ligaments.

The boards of both companies have approved the transaction, Mansfield, Massachusetts-based Covidien said.