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J&J Reaches $2.1 Billion Deal to Sell Diabetes Device Business

J&J Reaches $2.1 Billion Deal to Sell Diabetes Device Business

(Bloomberg) -- Johnson & Johnson got a $2.1 billion offer from a private-equity firm for its glucose monitor business LifeScan, the drugmaker said Friday.

The company said in January of last year that it was considering options for the diabetes device business as part of a broader effort to focus on its core health-care offerings. The deal, with Platinum Equity, is expected to close by the end of the year.

J&J has sought to trim its portfolio of medical technologies to raise cash. After buying Actelion for $30 billion last year, the drugmaker signaled that a new generation of medicines hold the key to its future profits as the dominance of a number of its best-selling drugs begins to fray.

J&J Reaches $2.1 Billion Deal to Sell Diabetes Device Business

The LifeScan division had 2017 sales of about $1.5 billion, according to J&J. The drugmaker’s shares were little changed in premarket trading.

To contact the reporter on this story: Cynthia Koons in New York at ckoons@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Drew Armstrong at darmstrong17@bloomberg.net, Timothy Annett

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