Zimmer Biomet To Buy LDR For $1 Billion

Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc. announced a deal Tuesday to buy medical device company LDR Holding Corp. in a deal valued at about $1 billion. As part of the deal, Zimmer will pay $37 a share for each LDR share outstanding, which represents a 64% premium to Monday's closing price of $22.58. LDR's stock is currently halted for news, and is set to resume trade at 7:30 a.m. ET. Zimmer said the deal, which is expected to close in the third quarter, should be neutral to adjusted earnings per share in 2017 and add to earnings after that. For 2016, Zimmer affirmed its adjusted EPS outlook of $7.85 to $8.00, compared with the FactSet consensus of $7.96. "This highly strategic and complementary transaction will enhance Zimmer Biomet's innovation leadership in musculoskeletal healthcare by adding a premier spine platform to our portfolio of solutions," said Zimmer Chief Executive David Dvorak. LDR's stock has dropped 10% year to date through Monday, while Zimmer's has rallied 18% and the S&P 500 has gained 3.2%.