Zimmer (NYSE:ZMH) today said it further revised the terms of its $13.35 billion bid for Biomet in an effort to satisfy anti-trust regulators on the European Commission.
It’s the 2nd attempt by the Warsaw, Ind.-based rivals to mollify the EU about the deal, announced last April, a union that would bring together 2 of the biggest names in orthopedics.
Zimmer said the latest proposal is substantially the same as the offer it made last December to sell off parts of its European business. The assets that would be divested include a unicompartmental knee brand and an elbow brand in the European Economic Area and a total knee brand in 2 EEA countries, the company said at the time.
Although the EuroZone commission has until May 26 to make its call, Zimmer said it’s still confident in a 1st-quarter closing.
Last week Zimmer president & CEO David Dvorak looked to reassure investors about the timeline during a conference call announcing 4th-quarter results.
"We continue to work with the European Commission to finalize the remaining details for a remedy package. We also continue to make progress as it relates to the U.S. and Japan," Dvorak said during a conference call with analysts, adding that Zimmer continues to expect "to be in a position to close the merger before the end of the 1st quarter."
The company reported profits of $156.6 million for the quarter, or 91¢ per diluted share, on sales of $1.22 billion. That’s a 33.6% bottom-line slide compared with the 2013 4th quarter, on a sales decline of 1.4%.
For the full year, Zimmer reported profits of $720 million, or $4.19 per share, on sales of $4.67 billion, for a profit slide of 5.4% on 1.1% sales growth.
Zimmer plans to provide guidance for 2015 in full after closing its acquisition of Biomet.