ZIMMER SECURES CHEAPER FINANCING FOR BIOMET DEAL (Orthopedics This Week)
Zimmer press release
Your Dashboard for the Zimmer-Biomet Merger
Zimmer Holdings, Inc. just lowered the cost of the acquisition of Biomet, Inc. and fortified its pocketbook to complete the deal.
The company announced on March 11, 2015 that it has agreed to sell $7.65 billion of senior notes through a consortium of Wall Street banks. The “price” of seven tranches of the notes averages about 3.2%. Bank of America analyst Bob Hopkins says that’s lower than expected and will save the company borrowing costs. Hopkins said the company had previously suggested the cost of the acquisition debt would be in the 3.5% to 3.75% range.
The stated purpose of the proceeds is to finance a portion of the Biomet acquisition. The offering of the notes is, however, not conditioned upon the consummation of the Biomet deal. If the Biomet deal falls through, the company says it expects to use the net proceeds, together with cash on hand, to redeem the notes.
The offering is expected to close on March 19, 2015.
Biomet Deal Slippage
As always, the Zimmer statement said the acquisition of Biomet is expected to take place at the end of t...
