A buyout consortium comprising Warburg Pincus and Advent International is in advanced talks to acquire Baxter International Inc's BAX biopharma solutions business.
BioPharma Solutions offers contract manufacturing services to the pharma and biotech industries. The deal value could reach or exceed $4 billion.
Warburg Pincus and Advent have submitted the most attractive offer to Baxter in an auction that drew interest from other private equity firms and major players, including Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc TMO, Reuters added.
Related: Baxter Q1 Earnings Beats Expectations On Stabilizing Macro Settings, Improved Supply Chain.
The private equity consortium is seeking help from other private equity firms to act as direct lenders for the deal.
In 2022, the BioPharma Solutions business generated sales of $644 million, down 4% Y/Y (up 2% on constant currency).
There is no certainty that Warburg Pincus and Advent will complete negotiations to acquire the unit. Baxter may still opt to sell to another bidder or keep the business, Reuters reported.
Baxter stated in January that it would explore a sale of the unit to "enhance focus and improve capital structure," a reference to its push to shed non-core businesses.
Baxter also plans to spin off its renal care and acute therapies units into an independent, publicly traded company.
In 2022, the combined sales from both units came in at $4.45 billion.
Price Action: BAX shares are up 0.33% at $46.20 during the premarket session on the last check Monday.
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