Biomet files for IPO to help pay off buyout debt (MarketWatch)
Orthopedic device manufacturer Biomet Inc. filed plans Friday for an initial public offering of up to $100 million, partially to pay off debts from its 2007 buyout.
The Wall Street Journal reported last month that the company, which makes dental implants and artificial hips and knees, was in discussion with banks about a return to public ownership.
Based in Warsaw, Ind., Biomet was acquired in 2007 for about $11.3 billion by Blackstone Group, KKR & Co., TPG and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s buyout arm. Each of those firms pitched in about $1.3 billion in cash, with the remainder, about $6.2 billion, covered with new debt, according to securities filings.
Biomet still carries much of that buyout debt on its balance sheet. The company said in January that its debt was about $5.9 billion as of Nov. 30, the end of its fiscal second quarter, down from about $6.2 billion immediately after the buyout.
In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Friday, the company said it would use the proceeds of the IPO to reduce its outstanding debt and for general corporate purposes.
After this IPO, Biomet is the latest company taken private in the pre-financial crisis buyout boom to return to public ownership.
Others, such as hotelier Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc., construction supplier HD Supply Holdings Inc. and real estate sales conglomerate Realogy Holdings Corp., found warm receptions among stock investors despite carrying large debt loads left over from their buyouts.
Biomet expects shares to trade under the symbol “BMET” but didn’t disclose which stock exchange it intends to list on.
Mike Spector and Ryan Dezember contributed to this article.
Write to Everdeen Mason at everdeen.mason@wsj.com
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