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Smith+Nephew cuts outlook, confirms failed merger talks with J&J's orthopaedics unit

Reuters
Smith+Nephew cuts outlook, confirms failed merger talks with J&J's orthopaedics unit

Nov 4 (Reuters) - ‌Smith+Nephew confirmed on Wednesday that it approached ​Johnson & ‌Johnson earlier this year ‌about a potential merger with the US ‌giant's orthopaedics arm, but those conversations have now ended.

Reuters reported the talks in October, ⁠which collapsed over disagreements ‌on who would ⁠run the enlarged group.

Smith+Nephew ​did not provide any details on why the ​talks ended.

The company, ​which ‌has been grappling with weak ​growth in ⁠its Orthopaedics unit, cut ‌its full-year ​revenue and ​profit forecasts as it expects the slowdown to persist through the final ‌quarter.

It said it will also continue to explore ‌strategic ​options for the business.

(Reporting by Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan ‌Nair and Rashmi Aich)