Zimmer Announces Acquisition of SoPlus Orthopaedic Surgical Power Tools Company

WARSAW, Ind., Dec. 22, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Zimmer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: ZMH; SIX: ZMH), a global leader in musculoskeletal care, today announced it has acquired Sodem Diffusion S.A., the manufacturer of SoPlus Orthopaedic Surgical Power Tools based in Geneva, Switzerland.  The company will be re-named Zimmer Surgical, S.A. and will be part of Zimmer Surgical, headquartered in Dover, Ohio.  

"Adding SoPlus's innovative small and large bone product lines to our portfolio will expand our offerings in the orthopaedic power equipment market," said Mark Dorris, President, Zimmer Surgical.  

This acquisition will broaden Zimmer's portfolio of surgical power tools and strengthen the Company's position in the over $1 billion surgical power tool market.  Sodem Diffusion's portfolio includes the commercially available SoPlus Universal large bone system and the SoPlus Ultra small bone system with associated consumables.

About the Company

Founded in 1927 and headquartered in Warsaw, Indiana, Zimmer designs, develops, manufactures and markets orthopaedic reconstructive, spinal and trauma devices, dental implants, and related surgical products.  Zimmer has operations in more than 25 countries around the world and sells products in more than 100 countries.  Zimmer's 2009 sales were approximately $4.1 billion.  The Company is supported by the efforts of more than 8,000 employees worldwide.

Website Information

We routinely post important information for investors on our website, www.zimmer.com, in the "Investor Relations" section.  We intend to use this website as a means of disclosing material, non-public information and for complying with our disclosure obligations under Regulation FD.  Accordingly, investors should monitor the Investor Relations section of our website, in addition to following our press releases, SEC filings, public conference calls, presentations and webcasts.  The information contained on, or that may be accessed through, our website is not incorporated by reference into, and is not a part of, this document.

Zimmer Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about the orthopaedics industry, management's beliefs and assumptions made by management.  Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as "may," "will," "expects," "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "estimates," "projects," "assumes," "guides," "targets," "forecasts," and "seeks" or the negative of such terms or other variations on such terms or comparable terminology.  These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially.  For a list and description of such risks and uncertainties, see our periodic reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.  We disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be set forth in our periodic reports.  Readers of this document are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, since, while we believe the assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, there can be no assurance that these forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate.  This cautionary statement is applicable to all forward-looking statements contained in this document.

SOURCE Zimmer Holdings, Inc.