Germany's Fresenius Nears Deal to Acquire Pfizer's Medical Devices Unit

By Heide Oberhauser-Aslan

FRANKFURT--German healthcare company Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA (FRE.XE) has a good chance of acquiring Pfizer Inc.'s (PFE) medical devices arm in a deal that could be announced soon, according to two people familiar with the matter.

These people say that Fresenius could pay some $1.5 billion for the business, which Pfizer acquired last year when it bought Hospira, Inc. for around $16 billion. Hospira manufactures injectable drugs and infusion technologies and biotech-drug knockoffs called biosimilars. When Pfizer bought Hospira last year, it was clear that Pfizer was mainly interested in the smaller competitor's biosimilars business and would probably put the medical-devices arm up for sale.

The medical-device business, which includes infusion pumps, would boost Fresenius' presence in the U.S., where its Fresenius Kabi unit, which also sells infusion technology, doesn't yet have a strong presence.

A Fresenius spokesman declined to comment on the matter. Pfizer wasn't immediately available to comment.

Write to Heide Oberhauser-Aslan at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 24, 2016 12:16 ET (16:16 GMT)

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