Biomet ($BMET) might be spinning-off its dental division.
The Warsaw, IN-based orthopedic giant revealed in a June 4 regulatory filing that it is pursuing "strategic exploratory work" that would involve spinning off its Biomet 3i dental business. Biomet says in the filing that it is developing detailed plans for the idea, and that the process will take several months.
And that's it. No other disclosures until there is a spin-off to report, or not. And so we're left to speculate a bit. Biomet's division covers a number of dental implants, regenerative technologies and dental tools and so it would definitely make an interesting standalone entity. Biomet might be looking to generate value from a division that, despite U.S. gains, has had uneven sales globally (they dipped 2% in the fiscal 2012 third quarter).
Biomet is also looking more intently right now at boosting growth in other areas, such as its trauma division. Trauma net sales declined 6% in the U.S. during the fiscal 2012 third quarter, but grew 1% globally. In April, the company announced it made a binding offer to buy the global trauma business of DePuy Orthopaedics for about $280 million in cash.
- here's the SEC filing
- read MassDevice's take