Smith & Nephew CEO dismisses takeover speculation
Smith & Nephew (S&N) chief executive Olivier Bohuon has dismissed speculation regarding a potential takeover of the FTSE-100 medical devices manufacturer, the Financial Times reported. Bohuon said that despite talk of the need for scale, S&N has outperformed the knees and hips market.
Talk of S&N as a takeover target has persisted since May last year when Kalamazoo, Michigan-based rival Stryker disclosed that it had done preliminary work on a potential bid for S&N, the item noted.
Bohuon would not comment about the chances of S&N receiving a takeover bid beyond adding that the board would have responsibility to make a decision in line with shareholders’ best interests, the report continued.
The article noted consolidation in the medical devices sector over the past year, with Medtronic completing a takeover of Irish counterpart Covidien in January and Zimmer acquiring Biomet last year.
Separately, Bohuon said S&N is looking for further bolt-on acquisitions, the item said.
A market report in The Daily Telegraph said S&N’s 4Q14 and FY14 financial results, released yesterday, were seen by some as making a bid from Stryker more likely. S&N reported 4Q14 revenues of USD 1.249bn (EUR 1.089bn), an increase of 2%.
Smith & Nephew's market capitalisation stood at GBP 10.70bn (EUR 14.30bn) at the close of trading on the London Stock Exchange yesterday, Thursday, 5 February.
Financial Times, Daily Telegraph