According to reports, Siemens Healthineers and GE HealthCare registered interest in acquiring business units from Medtronic (NYSE:MDT).
Bloomberg first reported the interest from the two companies in two units Medtronic plans to spinoff. The outlet cited people familiar with the matter.
In October, Medtronic announced its intention to pursue a separation of the company’s Patient Monitoring and Respiratory Interventions businesses. Both comprise part of the company’s Medical Surgical portfolio. In spinning those businesses off, the company aims to create value for itself and shareholders, CEO Geoff Martha said.
According to Bloomberg, sources indicated that Medtronic remains open to a sale at the right price. The report also said it values the businesses at more than $7 billion. Others registering interest include private equity firms, Bloomberg said.
Medtronic’s Patient Monitoring and Respiratory Interventions comprise part of the Respiratory, Gastrointestinal and Renal division within the Medical Surgical portfolio. In fiscal 2022, the combined businesses brought in global revenue of approximately $2.2 billion.
Medtronic continues to streamline its portfolio
When it announced its intent to spinoff the two businesses, Medtronic said it expected to complete the separation in the next 12 to 18 months. The deal needs to meet closing conditions once the company finds a buyer. That includes final approval from the Medtronic board of directors, receipt of tax opinions and other regulatory approvals.
The Fridley, Minnesota-based medtech giant tipped its interest in business spinoffs more than a year ago. At the time, analysts suggested that its diabetes and spine businesses seemed the most likely spinoff options.
On the company’s November 2021 second-quarter earnings call, Martha said Medtronic had no current plans to spin off the diabetes business specifically. However, he conceded that the company spent “a lot more time” looking at portfolios and capital allocation to “make sure we’re the right owner.”
In August of this year, Martha said during the company’s first-quarter earnings call that there would be more portfolio management, including potential tuck-in acquisitions and business divestitures.
Medtronic in May announced its intent to form a new medical device company for kidney care. Medtronic and DaVita will co-own the kidney care company. Each hold equal equity stakes. An independent management team leads the company under the terms of the agreement.
Shares of MDT were down 1.9% at $77.31 apiece in midday trading today. MassDevice‘s MedTech 100 Index, which includes stocks of the world’s largest medical device companies, was up more than 7%.
