Zimmer Biomet spins off ZimVie, stock plummets

WESTMINSTER — Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc. (NYSE and SIX: ZBH), an Indiana  medical-device maker, spun off its Westminster-based dental and spine division Tuesday and the new company, ZimVie Inc. (Nasdaq: ZIMV), saw its stock plummet in early trading.

ZimVie opened its first day as an independent, publicly traded company with a stock price of $33.35, but by late morning in Colorado, the stock had shed more than 30% of its value. 

More than 80% of the new company’s shares were distributed among Zimmer’s existing shareholders at a rate of one ZimVie share for every 10 Zimmer shares. Zimmer is holding the remaining roughly 20% stake, but plans to eventually divest. 

“As an independent company, we are uniquely poised to expand the reach of our dental and spine product platforms through innovation and enhanced commercial and operational focus,” ZimVie CEO Vafa Jamali said in a release. “Our solutions hold strong positions in the dental and spine markets, which represent a collective $20 billion addressable market opportunity. We intend to advance our positioning in each of these markets over time as we execute on multiple opportunities for growth and continue innovating to offer better solutions that help restore daily life.”

ZimVie’s board of directors will be made up of Jamali, Vinit Asar, Sally Crawford, David King, Richard Kuntz and Karen Matusinec. 

Zimmer, which was spun out of Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY: NYSE) in 2001, will now devote more focus to its remaining businesses for devices such as knees and hips, and craniomaxillofacial and thoracic treatments.

on Facebook on LinkedIn