Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) said today that it accepted a binding offer of more than $2 billion from private equity shop Platinum Equity for its LifeScan blood glucose monitoring business as it moves toward the exit in the diabetes market.
The New Brunswick, N.J.-based healthcare conglomerate early last year announced a strategic review of its LifeScan, Animas and Calibra Medical diabetes businesses and later elected to outright shutter the Animas insulin pump subsidiary.
J&J had until June 15 to accept the $2.1 billion offer, first announced in March, and today said the transaction is slated to close by the end of the year. Johnson & Johnson won’t cede the field entirely, it added, noting plans to continue to offer bariatric surgery products and drugs like Invokana and Invokamet.
Until March Chinese glucose monitor maker Sinocare (SZ:300298) and a sovereign wealth fund were in the running for LifeScan and Calibra Medical’s insulin delivery device operation. Sinocare, which paid $273 million for Nipro (TYO: 8086) in January 2016, led a consortium of buyers including China Investment Corp. unit China Jianyin Investment.
