Is Medtronic interested in acquiring Zimmer?

Recently, the Spine Blogger was speaking with industry professionals and overheard on the street that Medtronic was looking at a potential acquisition of Zimmer Medical Holdings. I know, where do I hear all these rumors? Well, this one came from a pretty good source.

So why would Medtronic look to acquire Zimmer? First of all the biggest factor would be market share, the next factor would be Zimmer's Recon and Trauma business in the U.S., and especially in Europe. This would open many different strategies for the company known as the "Evil Empire!"

Let's look at this for a moment. By acquiring Zimmer, Medtronic would immediately become a player in the THA and TKA markets, and open up greater marketing opportunities for Infuse as "pull through" business in Trauma. Think of the increase in revenue if your reps have BMP's as an adjunct to their trauma products.

But here is the $5 billion dollar question; "Can Medtronic acquire another company and not screw up the integration process? You know what many people on the street always say, "it's one thing to have the capital to buy a company, its a whole different scenario in integrating it!"

The Spine Blogger wants to know what the people on the street have heard?