Filed by: LVB Acquisition, Inc.
Pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act of 1933
Subject Company: LVB Acquisition, Inc.
Commission File No.: 333-198380
On May 29, 2015, Biomet, Inc. (“Biomet”) sent the following email to Biomet team members:
“Subject: Zimmer Announces Agreements in Furtherance of Pending Biomet Merger
Zimmer issued a press release on Thursday announcing that it has finalized agreements with buyers to divest in the United States certain Zimmer® Unicompartmental High-Flex Knee System assets, Biomet Discovery® Elbow System assets and Cobalt™ bone cement assets. Click here to read the release.”
The text of the linked Zimmer release is copied below for reference.
Zimmer Announces Agreements in Furtherance of Pending Biomet Merger
(WARSAW, Ind.) May 28, 2015 /PRNewswire/ – Zimmer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE and SIX: ZMH) ("Zimmer") announced today that it has finalized agreements with buyers to divest in the United States certain Zimmer® Unicompartmental High-Flex Knee System assets, Biomet Discovery® Elbow System assets and Cobalt™ bone cement assets. These divestiture agreements are in furtherance of Zimmer’s pending acquisition of Biomet, Inc. (“Biomet”).
Zimmer continues to work constructively with the Bureau of Competition Staff of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC” and, such staff, the “FTC Staff”) and is highly confident that within the next few weeks it can finalize the agreement in principle it reached previously with FTC Staff to resolve FTC Staff’s competitive concerns regarding the proposed acquisition.
The divestiture agreements are subject to further review by the FTC and acceptance of a consent order by the Commissioners of the FTC. The closing of these transactions is also subject to other customary conditions.
As previously announced, both the European Commission and the Japan Fair Trade Commission have cleared Zimmer’s proposed acquisition of Biomet. Upon the acceptance of the consent order by the FTC and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions, Zimmer intends to close the Biomet merger at the earliest possible date, which is currently anticipated to be mid-June, 2015.
About Zimmer
Founded in 1927 and headquartered in Warsaw, Indiana, Zimmer designs, develops, manufactures and markets orthopaedic reconstructive, spinal and trauma devices, dental implants and related surgical products. Zimmer has operations in more than 25 countries around the world and sells products in more than 100 countries. Zimmer's 2014 sales were approximately $4.7 billion. Zimmer is supported by the efforts of more than 9,000 employees worldwide.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This communication contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as "may," "will," "expects," "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "estimates," "projects," "assumes," "guides," "targets," "forecasts," and "seeks" or the negative of such terms or other variations on such terms or comparable terminology. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the benefits of the proposed merger between Zimmer and LVB Acquisition, Inc. ("LVB"), the parent company of Biomet, including future financial and operating results, the combined company's plans, objectives, expectations and intentions, the expected timing of completion of the transaction and other statements that are not historical facts. Such statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of Zimmer's management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the possibility that the anticipated synergies and other benefits from the proposed merger of Zimmer and LVB will not be realized, or will not be realized within the expected time periods; the inability to obtain regulatory approvals of the merger (including the approval of antitrust authorities necessary to complete the transaction) on the terms desired or anticipated; the timing of such approvals and the risk that such approvals may result in the imposition of conditions that could adversely affect the combined company or the expected benefits of the transaction; the risk that a condition to closing the transaction may not be satisfied on a timely basis or at all; the risk that the proposed transaction fails to close for any other reason; the risks and uncertainties related to Zimmer's ability to successfully integrate the operations, products and employees of Zimmer and Biomet; the effect of the potential disruption of management's attention from ongoing business operations due to the pending merger; the effect of the announcement of the proposed merger on Zimmer's and Biomet's relationships with their respective customers, vendors and lenders and on their respective operating results and businesses generally; risks relating to the value of the Zimmer shares to be issued in the transaction; the outcome of any legal proceedings related to the proposed merger; the risks and uncertainties normally incidental to the orthopaedic industry, including price and product competition; the success of the companies' quality and operational excellence initiatives; changes in customer demand for Zimmer's or Biomet's products and services caused by demographic changes or other factors; the impact of healthcare reform measures, including the impact of the U.S. excise tax on medical devices; reductions in reimbursement levels by third-party payors and cost containment efforts of healthcare purchasing organizations; dependence on new product development, technological advances and innovation; shifts in the product category or regional sales mix of Zimmer's or Biomet's products and services; supply and prices of raw materials and products; control of costs and expenses; the ability to obtain and maintain adequate intellectual property protection; the ability to form and implement alliances; challenges relating to changes in and compliance with governmental laws and regulations, including regulations of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (the "FDA") and foreign government regulators, such as more stringent requirements for regulatory clearance of products; the ability to remediate matters identified in any inspectional observations or warning letters issued by the FDA; changes in tax obligations arising from tax reform measures or examinations by tax authorities; product liability and intellectual property litigation losses; the ability to retain the independent agents and distributors who market Zimmer's and Biomet's products; dependence on a limited number of suppliers for key raw materials and outsourced activities; changes in general industry and market conditions, including domestic and
international growth rates and general domestic and international economic conditions, including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; and the impact of the ongoing economic uncertainty affecting countries in the Euro zone on the ability to collect accounts receivable in affected countries. For a further list and description of such risks and uncertainties, see Zimmer's periodic reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). Copies of these filings, as well as subsequent filings, are available online at www.sec.gov, www.zimmer.com or on request from Zimmer. Zimmer disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be set forth in its periodic reports. Readers of this communication are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, since, while management believes the assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, there can be no assurance that these forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. This cautionary statement is applicable to all forward-looking statements contained in this communication.
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Additional Information and Where to Find It
Zimmer filed with the SEC, and the SEC declared effective on September 29, 2014, a registration statement on Form S-4 that includes a consent solicitation statement of LVB that also constitutes a prospectus of Zimmer. INVESTORS AND SECURITYHOLDERS OF LVB ARE URGED TO READ THE CONSENT SOLICITATION STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS AND OTHER FILINGS MADE WITH THE SEC IN CONNECTION WITH THE MERGER CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY, BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE MERGER. The registration statement and consent solicitation statement/prospectus and other documents filed by Zimmer with the SEC may be obtained free of charge at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov or from Zimmer at www.zimmer.com. You may also read and copy any reports, statements and other information filed by Zimmer, LVB and Biomet with the SEC at the SEC public reference room at 100 F Street N.E., Room 1580, Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call the SEC at (800) 732-0330 or visit the SEC's website for further information on its public reference room. Certain executive officers and directors of LVB have interests in the proposed transaction that may differ from the interests of stockholders generally, including benefits conferred under retention, severance and change in control arrangements and continuation of director and officer insurance and indemnification.
This communication shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to appropriate registration or qualification under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. No offering of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
Additional Information about this Transaction
In connection with the proposed transaction, Zimmer Holdings, Inc. (“Zimmer”) filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), and the SEC declared effective on September 29, 2014, a registration statement on Form S-4 that includes a consent solicitation statement of LVB Acquisition, Inc. (“LVB”) that also constitutes a prospectus of Zimmer. We urge investors and security holders to read the consent solicitation statement/prospectus because it contains important information regarding the proposed merger. You may obtain a free copy of the consent solicitation statement/prospectus and other related documents filed by Zimmer and Biomet’s parent company, LVB, with the SEC at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. These documents and other relevant materials, including any documents incorporated by reference therein, when and if filed, may also be obtained free of charge from Zimmer at http://investor.zimmer.com or from Biomet at http://www.biomet.com/corporate/investors/, as applicable. This communication shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any offer or sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful, prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.
Forward Looking Statements
This document contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Those statements are often indicated by the use of words such as “will,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “plan” and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by the forward looking statements due to, among others, the following factors: the ability of the parties to complete the proposed merger; the parties ability to obtain regulatory approvals of the proposed merger on the contemplated terms and schedule; the impact of the announcement of, or failure to complete, the proposed merger on relationships with distributors, employees, customers and suppliers; potential or actual litigation; the success of LVB and its subsidiaries’ (together, the “Company”) principal product lines; the results of the ongoing investigation by the United States Department of Justice; the ability to successfully implement new technologies; the Company’s ability to sustain sales and earnings growth; the Company’s success in achieving timely approval or clearance of its products with domestic and foreign regulatory entities; the impact to the business as a result of compliance with federal, state and foreign governmental regulations and with the Deferred Prosecution Agreement; the impact to the business as a result of the economic downturn in both foreign and domestic markets; the impact of federal health care reform; the impact of anticipated changes in the musculoskeletal industry and the ability of the Company to react to and capitalize on those changes; the ability of the Company to successfully implement its desired organizational changes and cost-saving initiatives; the ability of the Company to successfully integrate acquisitions; the impact to the business as a result of the Company’s significant international operations, including, among others, with respect to foreign currency fluctuations and the success of the Company’s transition of certain manufacturing operations to China; the impact of the Company’s managerial changes; the ability of the Company’s customers to receive adequate levels of reimbursement from third-party payors; the Company’s ability to maintain its existing intellectual property rights and obtain future intellectual property rights; the impact to the business as a result of cost containment efforts of group purchasing organizations; the Company’s ability to retain existing independent sales agents for its products; the impact of product liability litigation losses; and other factors set forth in the Company’s filings with the SEC, including the Company’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.
Although the Company believes that the assumptions on which the forward-looking statements contained herein are based are reasonable, any of those assumptions could prove to be inaccurate given the inherent uncertainties as to the occurrence or nonoccurrence of future events. There can be no assurance as to the accuracy of forward-looking statements contained in this document. The inclusion of a forward-looking statement herein should not be regarded as a representation by the Company that the Company’s objectives will be achieved. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Accordingly, the reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements which speak only as of the date on which they were made.
