Stryker (NYSE:SYK) has proposed a plan to divest certain assets to Colfax (NYSE:CFX)/DJO Global in an effort to complete its acquisition of Wright Medical (NSDQ:WMGI).
Kalamazoo, Mich.-based Stryker’s proposed divestitures of its STAR total ankle replacement product, plus related assets, and its finger joint replacement products, is in connection with the Federal Trade Commission’s review of the ongoing effort to purchase Wright Medical, according to an SEC filing.
Stryker’s proposal needs regulatory approvals and the execution of definitive documents, so there is no guarantee that it will go through, the filing said.
The acquisition has been in the works for several months, as Stryker announced the $4.7 billion purchase in November 2019. Since then, the FTC increased its scrutiny of the proposed merger in January and a Wright Medical shareholder filed a proposed class-action lawsuit to block it later that month, in addition to probing in the U.K.
In May, Stryker announced that it entered into an underwriting agreement in connection with a $2.3 billion offering set to finance the acquisition. Last month, the United Kingdom Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) issued a statement of concern over the impact of the acquisition, claiming there would be a “negative impact on vulnerable patients in the U.K. who need ankle replacements.”
However, in the filing, Stryker highlighted that the CMA gave the go-ahead to DJO Global to purchase the assets Stryker has proposed, potentially putting an end to the authority’s concern over the acquisition.
Stryker officially extended the offering period until an expiration date of 5 p.m. ET on Aug. 31, 2020 back in June. However, an extension announced last week set the expiration of the offer at 5 p.m. ET on Sep 30, 2020, unless it is further extended or earlier terminated.
