Stryker has set aside around $18 billion for the acquisition of Smith & Nephew, a person with knowledge of the situation has said, according a Street Insider report.
Here are six key notes:
1. The inside source also said Goldman Sachs is acting as advisor.
2. Rumors of Stryker trying to acquire Smith & Nephew have been circling for years.
3. In 2014, there were talks between the two, but Stryker withdrew after it became known that Medtronic was interested. However, Medtronic eventually acquired Smith & Nephew competitor Covidien.
4. In the company's 2015 third quarter conference call, Stryker CEO Kevin Lobo said merger and acquisition activity is difficult to predict in terms of timing, however, it remains a priority for the company.
5. Stryker's net sales were $2.4 billion in the third quarter of 2015, a 1.3 percent increase from the same period the year before. The net sales were negatively impacted by 4.6 percent due to the impact of foreign currency exchange rates.
6. The orthopedic net sales reached $1 billion, up 0.3 percent over the same period last year.