Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG sold its blood transfusion diagnostics unit in California to Spanish pharmaceutical company Grifols SA. The deal was valued at USD1.68 billion. This was according to a report published by Bloomberg.
Novartis AG is a multinational drug maker based in Basel, Switzerland. The company's blood unit is located in Emeryville, California.This business conducts transfusion safety tests for infectious diseases. The company would expect this transaction to be completed by mid-2014. The sale of this unit to Grifols was the company's biggest divestment in 5 years. Novartis sold its eye care unit Alcon Inc in 2008. the report said.
Grifols is the biggest manufacturer of blood-plasma products in Europe. The company said it would expect the said transaction to boost its earnings a year after it is completed. The expected annual revenue from the Spanish drugmaker's diagnostic division would be around USD1 billion, the report stated.
Financial service provider Nomura advised Grifols on the deal, Bloomberg reported.
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