QuidelOrtho Corp. is weighing a sale of its transfusion medicine unit, which could be valued at $1.5 billion to $2 billion, people with knowledge of the matter said.
The San Diego, California-based diagnostics company is working with advisers to gauge potential interest in the unit, according to the people. The business is likely to attract interest from both strategic and private equity suitors, they said.
Deliberations are in the early stages and there’s no certainty that QuidelOrtho will decide to proceed with a sale of the unit, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information. A representative for QuidelOrtho declined to comment.
QuidelOrtho inherited the transfusion medicine business when it acquired Ortho Clinical Diagnostics Holdings Plc in 2022. The transfusion unit sells instruments and tests that help facilitate blood transfusions by ensuring patient-donor compatibility and screening blood and plasma for diseases. Revenue at the unit was broadly flat year-on-year at $164 million in the three months through Oct. 1, according to results for the period.
Like many other diagnostics companies, QuidelOrtho saw its shares skyrocket during the Covid-19 pandemic on huge demand for testing services. As the virus has receded, so has rapid and frequent testing. QuidelOrtho has fallen more than 25% in New York trading this year, giving the company a market value of about $4.2 billion.
Mergers and acquisitions in health-care have remained resilient this year, offering dealmakers some much needed respite from the broader slump in transactions. The value of deals targeting the sector has risen about 4% to roughly $255 billion in 2023, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
Siemens Healthineers AG is also reviewing its diagnostics segment as the German company seeks to streamline its operations, Bloomberg News reported this month. The business could be valued at as much as $8 billion.
