Zimmer-Biomet Merger Completed, Combined Company Unveiled
Posted
Chris Tulley-
Just a few blocks from where Justin Zimmer first made aluminum splints in a home basement in 1927, CEO David Dvorak and Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer unveiled the combined company Wednesday made official when Zimmer completed its $14 billion purchase of Biomet. The purchase received clearance from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, the last regulatory agency to sign off on the deal after it was first announced in April 2014. Agencies in Europe and Japan had given the green light in March. The agencies gave clearance on the condition that Zimmer and Biomet sell off certain assets to allay fears of anticompetitiveness. Italian orthopedic company Lima Corporate purchased European rights in May to a Zimmer knee brand and a Biomet elbow brand as well as rights in Denmark and Sweden for a Biomet knee brand. London-based Smith & Nephew will buy rights to Zimmer’s ZUK knee implant business, and California-based DJO Global will buy an elbow implant and bone cement business from Biomet. During remarks ahead of the unveiling of the new Zimmer Biomet sign in front of Zimmer’s Main Street facility, Thallemer observed that Dr. Dane Miller launched Biomet about 50 years after Zimmer started. Founded on the same sweat and ideals, he said, they followed parallel competitive paths for years before finally converging. “Warsaw celebrates this merger, and the community amplifies your commitment to move forward,” Thallemer said. “We congratulate you and we’re proud to be your home.” The merger solidifies Warsaw as the world capital of the $45 billion musculoskeletal healthcare market, Dvorak remarked. “We all have the same goal, improving lives one patient at a time,” he said. “Zimmer and Biomet are each proud to call Warsaw home.” The combined company now has operations in more than 25 countries and sells products in more than 100 countries, according to the announcement issued Wednesday on the closure of the deal. Zimmer Biomet expects to see approximately $135 million in combined earnings in the first year after the merger and $350 million by the third year, the announcement states. The company’s board of directors has increased to 12 members, and it will trade on the New York Stock Exchange and the SIX Swiss Exchange under the ticker symbol ZBH starting Monday.
