Smith & Nephew shares jump on fresh J&J bid talk
SHARES in artificial knee and hip maker Smith & Nephew jumped 3.5 per cent today after a weekend report that Johnson & Johnson was considering a fresh takeover approach worth at least 800 pence a share.
An offer at 800p would value Europe's leading replacement joint company at 7.12bn. Its shares were trading at 709p.
A newspaper report said that US healthcare giant J&J was understood to be weighing a formal offer for Smith & Nephew after a tentative approach was rejected last year.