Siemens Healthineers reviews options for diagnostics unit – source

MUNICH/FRANKFURT (Reuters) – German medical equipment maker Siemens Healthineers is in the early stages of weighing options for its diagnostics business, which has little overlap with other units, a person familiar with the situation told Reuters.

Shares rose by almost 4% to a three-month high of 49.12 euros in early trade on Friday.

The review could lead to a sale of the unit but all options remain open, the source said. Deliberations are at an early stage and no banks have yet been mandated, they added.

Bloomberg first reported that the company was reviewing a sale or carve-out of its in-vitro diagnostics operations and that it could be valued at as much as $8 billion, attracting interest from private equity firms.

A spokesperson for the company declined to comment.

Falling test demand hit the company’s diagnostics segment in the third quarter, with revenue down 20%. The diagnostics business is also in the middle of restructuring.

The listed Siemens subsidiary ranks number two worldwide behind Swiss Roche in the business of laboratory lines for blood tests.