Stryker planning takeover offer for Smith & Nephew - Bloomberg

(Reuters) - U.S. surgical implant maker Stryker Corp is planning a takeover offer for British medical device maker Smith & Nephew that may come within weeks, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

According to the report, Stryker plans to offer a significant premium to Smith & Nephew's current share price, with one of the people saying it could be about 30 percent.

Smith & Nephew's London-listed shares rose 7.5 percent in early trading on Wednesday, to give it a market value of 10.6 billion pounds ($16.5 billion). Stryker shares closed up 1.7 percent at $96.61.

Neither company could be reached for comment.

Analysts and bankers have speculated for years that the British company could be an attractive target for a company such as Stryker. The U.S. firm said in May that it was not working on a takeover offer, following similar media reports, which meant that under British takeover rules it could not make a bid for another six months.

According to Bloomberg, the bid is still being finalised and the timing could change. There's also a possibility that Stryker could decide against an offer, it quoted one of the people as saying.

Michigan-based Stryker is not considering a so-called "tax inversion" because of limited tax benefits and political risk, one of the people said, according to Bloomberg.

(Reporting by Rosmi Shaji in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Kate Holton; Editing by Kirti Pandey and Louise Heavens)