Smith & Nephew rises amid speculation of bid from Johnson & Johnson
Shares in Smith & Nephew edged up 1.1% amid speculation that the rival medical-devices group Johnson & Johnson (J&J) might make a takeover bid, the Financial Times reported. The market report said deal speculation intensified after New Brunswick, New Jersey-based J&J sold its cardiology franchise Cordis yesterday, 2 March, boosting its estimated cash and equivalents to USD 35bn.
UK-based Smith & Nephew’s share price ended trading yesterday at 1199p, giving the London-listed business a market capitalisation of GBP 10.75bn (USD 16.53bn).
The Kalamazoo, Michigan-based medical-technologies company Stryker Corporation has previously been tipped as a prospective buyer of Smith & Nephew, the report noted. The Times reported chatter of a potential 1500p-per-share cash-and-shares offer from Stryker but was sceptical of the reheated rumour.
Financial Times, The Times