Zimmer divests assets to further Biomet acquisition

Zimmer Holdings announced on May 28 that it plans to divest in the U.S. certain assets to further its pending acquisition of Biomet.

Zimmer has finalized agreements with buyers to divest certain Zimmer nondental assets, certain Biomet nondental assets, and Cobalt bone cement assets.

The company said it was working with the Bureau of Competition Staff of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and is "highly confident" that an agreement in principle can be finalized within the next few weeks to resolve FTC staff's competitive concerns regarding the proposed acquisition.

The European Commission and the Japan Fair Trade Commission have cleared Zimmer's proposed acquisition of Biomet. The company announced that it intended to close the Biomet merger at the "earliest possible date, which is currently anticipated to be mid-June, 2015."

Under the terms of the merger agreement announced on April 24, 2014, Zimmer will acquire Biomet in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $13.35 billion, including the assumption of net debt.