US-based healthcare company Baxter is reportedly in talks to divest its kidney-care spin-off Vantive to private equity firm Carlyle Group for more than $4bn, including debt.
The exclusive discussions between the two parties started in late June, and an official acquisition announcement is expected soon, reported the Wall Street Journal.
In January last year, the US healthcare company unveiled its plans to separate its renal care and acute therapies units into an independent, publicly traded company.
Baxter announced that its proposed spin-off would be named Vantive and launched as an independent, publicly traded company by July 2024 or earlier.
In March this year, Baxter’s plan to spin off Vantive into an independent, publicly traded company has changed to an acquisition and entered discussions with private equity investors.
Baxter, in an SEC filing, said: “Consistent with Baxter’s commitment to evaluate strategic options in the interest of maximising stockholder value, Baxter disclosed that it has been in recent discussions with select private equity investors to explore a potential sale of the Kidney Care asset in-lieu of the proposed spin-off of that business.”
Once the final separation of Vantive is completed, Baxter EVP and kidney care group president Chris Toth will be appointed CEO of the new company.
Vantive is focused on chronic and acute dialysis treatments and services, and the segment generated around $4.45bn in sales, nearly a third of Baxter’s total revenue, last year.
Carlyle Group is a US-based private equity, alternative asset management and financial services corporation with $426bn of assets under management.
In October last year, the company reportedly started negotiations with Medtronic to acquire its Patient Monitoring and Respiratory Interventions businesses.
In 2014, the group won a bid to purchase Johnson & Johnson’s Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics blood testing business for $4bn but was finally sold to Quidel for $6bn last year.
Furthermore, major medical device companies such as GE, BD and Zimmer Biomet, among others, are engaged in spin-offs to better focus on their businesses post-pandemic.
