Biomet Expands Its Spine Play

With Biomet Inc. 's acquisition of Interpore International Inc. (more familiarly known as Interpore Cross International), we see the latest in a series of moves by leading orthopedic suppliers into the heady spine market. [See Deal] Once largely shunned by the mainstream orthopedics companies, spine has become a hot market, driven both by its high growth rates, which are outpacing more traditional hip and knee lines, and its array of innovative technologies, which many in the spine market hope will drive further growth. Indeed, in that respect, Biomet's purchase price of nearly $300 million both represents a premium over Interpore's recent stock price and is right in range of other major spine deals in recent years, including Medtronic Inc. 's acquisition of Spinal Dynamics Inc. [See Deal], Synthes-Stratec 's purchase of Spine Solutions Inc. [See Deal] and Johnson & Johnson unit DePuy AcroMed Inc. 's acquisition of the Waldemar-Link GMBH & Co.'s spine business Link Spine Group Inc. [See Deal]

Of course, the Interpore Cross deal is far from Biomet's first foray into spine: the latter's product lines include more...