Artificial knee and hip maker Smith & Nephew (SN.L) said on Friday it was not in talks on a merger or takeover, after a report it was weighing a deal with privately owned U.S. rival Biomet sent its shares higher. Speculation of a deal involving Biomet, which the Daily Telegraph said would be structured as a merger, followed an earlier report that a 7 billion pounds ($11 billion) bid from Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) had been rejected last month. The British company, which also has woundcare and endoscopy units, has been tipped as a target for some time, although industry analysts say a takeover by a large U.S. rival like Biomet or J&J could run into antitrust issues.
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