Stryker to Purchase Howmedica

Stryker Corp. will buy Pfizer Inc.'s Howmedica unit for $1.9 billion in cash, combining the world's fifth and third largest makers of orthopedic implants, respectively.

Upon completion of the deal, Stryker said it will hold approximately 15% of the roughly $10-billion world orthopedic market.

This deal indicates a consolidation trend in orthopedics. In July, DePuy Inc. was bought by Johnson & Johnson (see: Johnson & Johnson Buys DePuy for $3.5 Billion). In May, U.S. Surgical Inc. was acquired by Tyco International Ltd.