The Wall Street Journal (12/17, Flowers) reported that pharmaceutical firm Bristol-Myers Squibb has agreed to sell "its medical imaging group to private equity firm Avista Capital Partners for about $525 million." The signed agreement "comes two weeks after" Bristol-Myers Squibb announced the unit’s sale "as part of its restructuring." Under the deal, which is expected to be finalized next month, the purchased imaging unit "will operate as an independent company under a new name."
According to Dow Jones (12/17), the unit "supplies medical-imaging products for nuclear and ultrasound cardiovascular diagnostic imaging procedures." The deal will be in cash.
The Boston Business Journal (12/17) quoted Bristol-Myers Squibb’s CEO, James M. Cornelius, as saying, "As Bristol-Myers Squibb continues to focus on evolving into a next- generation biopharma company, we determined the best way to maximize the value of medical imaging for shareholders was to sell this business and reinvest the proceeds into our pharmaceutical research, development and commercialization efforts." The deal is expected to be complete by the end of next month.
