One year on, J&J's Synthes buy finally gets EU green light
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The finishing line is now in sight for Johnson & Johnson's planned billion-dollar acquisition of trauma specialist Synthes, after European anti-trust regulators finally approved the takeover. J&J agreed to buy Synthes for €19bn nearly a year ago ($21.3bn based on the exchange rate at that time) in a deal that would strengthen its leading position in the global orthopaedics market and catapulting it to the number-one spot in the $5.5bn trauma device market (www.clinica.co.uk, 27 April 2011).