Following Sulzer AG 's dramatic acquisition of spinal cage pioneer Spine-Tech Inc. (now Centerpulse Spine-Tech , a division of Centerpulse AG ), in late 1997, officials at then-independent DePuy Inc. joined the orthopedics industry's general eye-rolling about the $595 million price tag. And when, less than half a year later, DePuy bought AcroMed Corp., company officials pointed to the relatively modest $320 million price (for a company with a broad play in spine, not a single technology) as evidence of their ability to get a good deal without having to pay stratospheric prices.
The acquisition by DePuy AcroMed Inc. (now part of Johnson & Johnson [See Deal]), of privately-held Waldemar Link...