Smith+Nephew-J&J Talks Not Confirmed to Have Collapsed Amid Plans to Sell or Spin Off Orthopedics Unit
Key Facts
The collapse of talks to combine Smith+Nephew with Johnson & Johnson’s orthopedics unit, and claims that a dispute over the CEO post caused them to stall, could not be verified. Reports circulated that negotiations had collapsed, but the Investing.com page attributing the story to the Financial Times was unavailable for verification, and no reliable independent confirmation emerged, according to a review of the open sources cited in the fact file. The collapse or its cause therefore cannot be presented as confirmed. The possible news comes as Johnson & Johnson considers options for the future of DePuy Synthes, including spinning it off as a standalone company or selling it. Details of any negotiations with Smith+Nephew, including positions on management or deal terms, also cannot be confirmed from the available facts.
Reuters reported on 11 September 2026, citing Bloomberg, that Apollo was in talks to acquire Johnson & Johnson’s orthopedics unit in a deal that could value it at about $20 billion. That represents a potential path different from combining the businesses with Smith+Nephew, but it does not confirm that talks between the two companies have ended or establish their details. Reuters said the unit generated revenue of $9.3 billion in 2025, providing a clear measure of the scale of the business in focus. The unit’s activities include joint implants and surgical devices, according to the report. The combination of a potential sale and spin-off puts both options on the company’s strategic agenda, but the available facts do not confirm a final decision on either.
Johnson & Johnson announced in 2025 that it intended to spin off its orthopedics business, which includes DePuy Synthes, into a standalone company, setting a timeline of 18 to 24 months to complete the move. The company said it expected to complete the process within that period, while Reuters reported that the plan aimed to create an independent entity. According to the investor relations announcement, DePuy Synthes will continue to operate in a global market with an opportunity exceeding $50 billion and serve about 7 million patients annually. These figures provide context for the scale of the business Johnson & Johnson is considering reorganizing. The available facts do not indicate whether discussions attributed to Smith+Nephew or Apollo would change the announced spin-off timeline.
Smith+Nephew, meanwhile, reported revenue of $3.097 billion in the first half of 2026, up 4.6% on a reported basis from $2.961 billion in the same period of 2025, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The results provide the latest financial measure of the company in the available facts, but do not include an estimate of the impact of a potential merger or an official position on talks with Johnson & Johnson. Smith+Nephew shares fell nearly 8% on 4 August 2026, after the company cut its full-year sales outlook amid weak U.S. sales in orthopedics and wound care, Reuters reported. That decline relates to the company’s performance and outlook at the time and does not establish a link to the merger talks in the report. Smith+Nephew is expected to release its third-quarter trading report on 6 November 2026, according to its filing.