J&J and Smith & Nephew abandon $34 billion merger over CEO choice

Merger talks between Johnson & Johnson and Britain's Smith & Nephew that would have created a medical device company valued at about $34 billion collapsed over which executive would run the combined business, the Financial Times reported on October 23. Reuters confirmed the account with a person familiar with the talks; both companies declined to comment.

The two sides had expected to announce an agreement in mid-October, according to the FT. Johnson & Johnson wanted Namal Nawana, who leads its DePuy Synthes orthopedic device division, as chief executive, while Smith & Nephew chairman Rupert Soames insisted on keeping Deepak Nath in the role. Nawana ran Smith & Nephew for about 18 months before leaving in 2019 over pay.

Financial terms had largely been settled: J&J shareholders would have owned 50.1% of the merged company and Smith & Nephew shareholders 49.9%, with the British company raising roughly $10 billion in debt to bridge the valuation gap. J&J's orthopedics arm was valued at up to $22 billion, against Smith & Nephew's market capitalization of about $12.6 billion.

Smith & Nephew approached J&J in early 2026. Its shares have fallen about 21% over a year, and shareholder Cevian Capital has pressed for changes. J&J chief financial officer Joseph Wolk said the company leans toward running the unit as a standalone business.

This story was first reported by Vietnam.vn.