Zimmer Extends Termination Date for Biomet Deal (NASDAQ)
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Zimmer must divest pipeline projects, IP rights, licenses and customer contracts to satisfy EU
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