Termination Date for Zimmer-Biomet Merger Extended

The termination date for Zimmer Holdings Inc.’s pending $13.4 billion merger with Biomet Inc. has been extended to July 23. The original date the agreement would expire was April 24.

The terms of the merger agreement allowed for either party to extend the termination date, or “outside date,” for an additional 90 days if regulatory clearances were yet to be obtained.

Last month, the European Commission cleared the transaction between the two orthopedic-device makers, which are both based in Warsaw, Ind., conditioned upon Zimmer’s sale of three businesses in Europe. The commission said at the time that the asset sales would alleviate concerns the deal could have led to higher prices for orthopedic implants in some European countries.

The deal remains subject to Federal Trade Commission approval in the United States. Zimmer officials said it continues to work closely with the government agency and expects to receive clearance by or shortly after the end of the month.