Biomet, a maker of hip and knee replacement products, has agreed to be acquired by a private equity consortium for about $10.9 billion in cash.
The buyers include Blackstone Group, Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and the Texas Pacific Group, along with one of Biomet's founders, Dane A. Miller.
Shareholders are being offered $44 a share, a 27% premium to Biomet's price on April 3, the trading day before news surfaced that the company was a takeover target. Biomet started looking for a buyer with the help of Morgan Stanley on April 6.
The buyers said they will use a combination of their own cash and borrowed funds from Bank of America and Goldman Sachs to finance the takeover.
The board of Biomet voted in favor of the transaction, which is subject to shareholder approval and antitrust clearance.
Biomet said the transaction is expected to be complete by Oct. 31, and the company's stock will be delisted from the Nasdaq Stock Market.
Last week, UBS analyst Kristen M. Stewart wrote in a report that a private equity buyout wouldn't be justified at more than $43 per share.
Separately, Biomet said it is delaying the release of its fiscal second-quarter financial results because of a continuing review of its stock options practices since 1996. But the company did disclose that its unaudited sales for the quarter were $520.3 million.
