Here are 10 big spine and orthopedic device company acquisitions so far in 2014.
The biggest acquisition news in the industry so far this year is Medtronic's $42.9 billion acquisition of Covidien. The companies expect to complete the transaction in late 2014 or early 2015, at which point Medtronic plans to relocate company headquarters to Ireland, where Covidien is located.
Medtronic later acquired Sapiens Steering Brain Stimulation for $200 million. The company also closed a Visualase purchase in July.
Stryker acquired Small Bone Innovations for $375 million. Stryker also acquired Berchtold Holding and Pivot Medical in early 2014.
In one of the biggest transactions of the year, Zimmer announced intentions to acquire Biomet for $13.35 million.
In early 2014, Globus Medical acquired robotic device maker Excelsius Surgical, a company developing the next generation surgical robot positioning platforms for spine, brain and therapeutic uses.
A March purchase of ArthroCare for $1.7 billion made Smith & Nephew an even more attractive acquisition target, but Smith & Nephew remains independent for now.
St. Jude Medical paid $200 million for NeuroTherm.