Zimmer Acquires Biomet for $13.35 Billion

Zimmer Holdings said Thursday that it will acquire orthopedic devicemaker Biomet for $13.35 billion, setting the combined company up as a leader in the $45 billion musculoskeletal market.

Zimmer’s product portfolio spans multiple fields, including knee, hip and shoulder replacements, elbow products, feet and ankles, trauma products, surgical solutions, sports medicine, spinal devices and dental implants. Biomet is focused almost exclusively on musculoskeletal devices, including the Oxford Partial Knee replacement and the virtual bone model app for orthopedic surgeons.

Combining the two companies will increase and diversify the range of personalized musculoskeletal devices for surgeons and patients, which will in turn improve patient outcomes, Zimmer said. The merger will also help the company break into emerging markets and increase cross-selling opportunities in current markets.

In 2013, Zimmer and Biomet had combined revenues of $7.8 billion. Zimmer’s reported first-quarter sales for this year of $1.61 billion. The merger is expected to bring in $138 million in the first year.

The deal is set to close in the first quarter of next year. — Lena Freund

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