(Reuters) -Three major investors of Smith & Nephew are pushing the medical device maker to consider a break-up of the business, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing shareholders.
The UK-headquartered company should spin off its orthopaedics division, which makes replacement hip and knee joints, if management could not improve its performance, the top 20 shareholders told FT.
A private equity firm could be a potential buyer for the division, which is the largest for Smith & Nephew in terms of revenue, the newspaper reported, citing two investors.
Smith & Nephew did not immediately respond to a Reuters’ request for comment.
Britain’s largest medical products maker by market value, Smith & Nephew slashed its annual underlying revenue growth forecast in October on weak China demand.
Activist investor Cevian – known to call for change at firms it takes up stake in – had built a 5% shareholding in Smith & Nephew in July, making it the second-largest shareholder of the medical device maker, according to LSEG data.
(Reporting by Devika Nair and Prerna Bedi in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
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