Stryker CEO Doubts S&N Will Buy Biomet

Stryker CEO Stephen MacMillan doubts that rival orthopedic manufacturers, Smith & Nephew and Biomet will complete a merger, according to Reuters News Service.

MacMillan of the Kalamazoo, MI-based company said such a sizable acquisition could be a “distraction” for London, UK-based Smith & Nephew, which is on a solid growth path and capable of competing on its own in the orthopedic device industry.

Smith & Nephew had said last week that it was in preliminary talks in possibly purchasing Warsaw, IN-based Biomet.

“When you look at Smith and Nephew acquiring Biomet, they both have very similar market caps today, so it’s somebody swallowing a company that is your size. There would be a lot of integration challenges,” MacMillan told the Reuters Health Summit in New York.

The more likely scenario is for a private equity suitor to emerge for Biomet, MacMillan said. “If I were a betting person, I would say more that,” he said.