Sources familiar with U.S.-based Baxter, one of the market leaders in pharmaceutical and medical technology, say that U.S.-based medical technology company Hill-Rom may be ready for acquisition after attempts failed in July.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports that hospital and nursing home bed manufacturer Hill-Rom, which also provides and sells operating room tables and patient monitoring systems, could agree to the new deal.
Hill-Rom had only rejected an offer to buy Baxter in the middle of the year, which was probably too low. Now, however, the billion-dollar takeover could succeed after all, because ten billion dollars, the equivalent of 8.5 billion euros, would be available from Baxter for it. Baxter is offering 150 dollars per share. In July, the bid was still at 144 dollars.
Talks would be ongoing, according to WSJ, but could fall through at any time. Since Baxter expressed strong interest, Hill-Rom’s stock market value has risen to $8.7 billion. A share now costs $133; that’s up 40 percent in the last year. Baxter is valued at $37 billion. Baxter and Hill-Rom were nevertheless unavailable for comment or statement, according to news agency Bloomberg.
Source: www.apotheke-adhoc.de