Zimmer Holdings Inc. said Monday the termination date for its
pending $13.4 billion merger with Biomet Inc. has been extended to
July 23.
The terms of the merger agreement allowed for either party to
extend the termination date, or "outside date," for an additional
90 days if regulatory clearances were yet to be obtained. The
previous termination date was April 24.
The European Commission last month cleared the transaction
between the two orthopedic-device makers, which are both based in
Warsaw, Ind., conditioned upon Zimmer's sale of three businesses in
Europe. The commission said at the time that the asset sales would
alleviate concerns the deal could have led to higher prices for
orthopedic implants in some European countries.
In the U.S., the deal remains subject to Federal Trade
Commission approval. Zimmer said Monday that it continues to work
closely with the government agency and expects to receive clearance
by or shortly after the end of the month.
Zimmer shares, up 27% over the past 12 months, are unchanged in
recent after-hours trading.
Write to Lisa Beilfuss at Lisa.Beilfuss@wsj.com
Access Investor Kit for Zimmer Holdings, Inc.
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US98956P1021
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires