Advanced merger talks between UK-based Smith & Nephew and Johnson & Johnson’s DePuy Synthes orthopaedics business have reportedly collapsed. The deal would have created a transatlantic medical technology company valued at approximately $34 billion. Reports say the companies had largely agreed on the transaction’s financial terms and structure before negotiations broke down.
The main sticking point was who would lead the combined company. Johnson & Johnson reportedly wanted Namal Nawana, head of its orthopaedics division and a former Smith & Nephew CEO, to take the role. Smith & Nephew made it a condition that its current CEO, Deepak Nath, remain in charge. The companies could not resolve the dispute. Both have declined to comment on the reports.