Biomet Inc. has made a $280 million binding offer to acquire the worldwide trauma business of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) subsidiary DePuy Orthopaedics Inc.
“This transaction will provide Biomet with a much stronger presence in the global trauma market and greatly expands our sports, extremities and trauma business, which is a meaningful growth driver for Biomet,” said President and CEO Jeffrey R. Binder in a statement.
It would also ease European regulatory concerns tied to J&J’s $19.2 billion acquisition of Synthes Inc. Last April, J&J agreed to buy the maker of trauma, spine and other medical tools, but EU antitrust officials launched an investigation into the sale in November over concerns that the purchase would make J&J the leader in the already concentrated $5.5 billion trauma device market. Jan Wald, a senior medical device analyst at Morgan Keegan, told The New York Times in February that J&J was more interested in Synthes’ spine business and selling off part of its trauma business was a possible solution.
Biomet, meanwhile, just dodged a bullet of its own by agreeing to a $22 million settlement regarding U.S. allegations that it bribed doctors in countries like Brazil and China over a period of several years. The Warsaw, Indiana company designs, manufactures and markets surgical and nonsurgical products used by musculoskeletal medical specialists.
According to Reuters, the sale is expected to close in the second quarter.
Biomet generated $2.7 billion in sales in 2011. DePuy, comprising the Warsaw, Indiana-based Orthopedics Division and three others, generated $5.8 billion in sales last year.
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By Deanna Pogorelc MedCity News
Deanna Pogorelc is a Cleveland-based reporter who writes obsessively about life science startups across the country, looking to technology transfer offices, startup incubators and investment funds to see what’s next in healthcare. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Ball State University and previously covered business and education for a northeast Indiana newspaper.More posts by Author
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