Zimmer makes a divestiture proposal to appease EU regulators in Biomet acquisition

The European Commission is working with Zimmer Holdings ($ZMH) on its requirements to complete the proposed $13.4 billion acquisition of Biomet. To address the agency's concerns, Zimmer has proposed the divestiture of "one unicompartmental knee brand and one elbow brand" in the European Economic Areas as well as "one total knee brand" in two European countries. The EC has stopped the clock on its review of the proposed merger; the schedule for an EC ruling had been extended twice previously. The EC was slated to complete its review of the deal by March 11, but was most recently extended by "a number of days." That could make it tough for Zimmer to hit its proposed timeline to close the acquisition during the first quarter of 2015. Release