Steris ($STE) and Synergy said they will fight the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's plan to prevent their $1.9 billion merger, which would create a global powerhouse in the medical device sterilization sector. "It is unfortunate that we have come to this point with a transaction as strategic and geographically complimentary as ours," said Steris CEO Walt Rosebrough in an SEC filing. "We have worked diligently to address the FTC's concerns and to avoid litigation, but we will now focus our efforts on prevailing in court." The companies have extended their deadline for closure of the transaction to the end of the year. Steris has argued that Synergy's global presence ameliorates U.S. antitrust concerns, but the FTC does not agree. The deal is politically sensitive for another reason as well. It was among the first inversion deals announced after the Treasury Department's issuance of new rules designed to make the tax-saving practice less attractive. More