Posted in Medical Device Business by Chris Newmarker on November 24, 2014
Stryker executives are once again examining a possible buy of London-based Smith & Nephew and its $4.4 billion-a-year medical device business, according to a Bloomberg report.
The report cited anonymous sources, but generated enough interest to send Smith & Nephew's stock up more than 10% in value in trading on the London Stock Exchange on Monday.
Kalamazoo, MI–based Stryker Corp. acknowledged earlier this year that it has its eye on Smith & Nephew but wasn't ready to pop the question yet. The new speculation comes as a standby period on a potential bid ends.
For its part, Smith & Nephew has seemed content to got its own way. Since his arrival at the company in 2011, CEO Olivier Bohuon has been redirecting the company’s emphasis on hip and knee replacements toward innovations in one of its oldest businesses—wound care.
Styker's apparent interest in a mega merger comes amid Zimmer’s pending merger with Biomet for $13.4 billion. Combined, Zimmer and Biomet would have enough strength to surpass Stryker in size in the global orthopedics market, knocking Stryker down to third place, according to EvaluateMedTech, a market intelligence firm.
