Rumors of the zombie deal that won’t die, Stryker‘s (NYSE:SYK) reported buyout of Smith & Nephew (NYSE:SNN), were resurrected last week after StreetInsider reported that Stryker tabled an $18 billion offer for its British orthopedics rival.
Citing “a person with knowledge of the situation,” the website said Goldman Sachs is acting as an advisor on the deal and that “talks could move quickly.”
Both Stryker and Smith & Nephew declined to comment, according to the Dec. 18 report.
A perennial target of M&A speculation, Smith & Nephew’s rumored suitors over the years have included Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), Kalamazoo, Mich.-based Stryker, Biomet (which has since merged with Zimmer to form Zimmer Biomet (NYSE:ZBH)) and even Medtronic (NYSE:MDT).
In an interview with MassDevice.com back in 2011, PearlDiver Technologies CEO Robin Young likened the rumor mill to a horror flick.
“It’s getting to be like a zombie movie. Every time you knock down one rumor, up pops another,” said Young, who co-founded the Fort Wayne, Ind.-based analytics company tracking the global orthopedics industry. “For whatever reason, this story just won’t die.”
The dish on a Stryker-Smith & Nephew union swirled to a fevered pitch a year back but eventually fizzled as the London-based company asserted a familiar refrain: Big isn’t always better.
CEO Olivier Bohuon later said the seemingly never-ending chatter is “disruptive,” confirming the go-it-alone strategy with a series of small and large acquisitions and strategic investments.
