Zimmer To Divest Assets To Win U.S. Permission To Buy Biomet
Zimmer Holdings Inc has won U.S. antitrust approval to buy rival orthopedic products maker Biomet Inc on condition that it divest certain assets, the Federal Trade Commission said today Wednesday, June 24, according to a Reuters report.
The assets to be sold include certain knee implants, total elbow implants and bone cement, the agency said.
Zimmer had said when it announced the proposed transaction in April 2014 that the $13 billion deal would double the size of its spine and dental business, broaden its portfolio of products to treat bones, knees and hips, and give it an entry into the smaller but growing field of sports medicine.
London-based Smith & Nephew will buy Zimmer’s U.S. ZUK unicondylar knee implant business, a less invasive replacement which is also called unicompartmental knee replacement. California-based DJO Global will buy Biomet’s U.S. Discovery Total Elbow implant and Cobalt Bone Cement businesses, the FTC said.
The European Union and Japan have already approved the proposed transaction.