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Since the Sept. 28 announcement that Bristol-Myers Squibb will sell Zimmer, rumors are flying around Warsaw about who is interested in buying the orthopedic company.
An article in Thursday's Indianapolis Star speculated that Biomet is interested, and the headline said it all - "Biomet may be on path toward an acquisition."
The article went on to say Zimmer's asking price of $2 billion was well within Biomet's range, and implied Biomet would be interested in Zimmer because of Zimmer's "Asian presence."
But the Star may have been overreaching, said Biomet president and CEO Dane Miller Thursday.
"The headline was not really accurate and the substance of the article kind of took it out of context," he said. "We're not seriously looking at Zimmer."
While he didn't totally discount the possibility of Biomet buying Zimmer, Miller didn't endorse it, either.
"Anything's possible," he said, "but probably the logical buyer is someone not in Warsaw."
When asked about the rumor of the possibility of Zimmer being acquired by Biomet, Zimmer spokesman Brad Bishop said that out of all the stories floating around, "that's one I actually hadn't heard."
Bishop said there was interest indicated in buying Zimmer, but because it will likely be a six- to 12-month process, he wasn't at liberty to discuss it further.
Since the announcement Sept. 28 by Zimmer President Ray Elliott, Bishop said, employee morale has been "very positive." A Zimmer employee who was asked the same question earlier gave the same response as Bishop, adding, "Bigger is not always better."
Whether the same positive attitude will continue may depend on what company buys Zimmer, a possibility Miller didn't completely rule out.
"We have not pursued information about it and we're not actively looking into it," Miller said.
Then he added: "But if no one else comes along. ..."
