Private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Co or KKR as well as Toshiba are one of the many expected bidders for the healthcare business of Panasonic Corp. This was reported by financial sources knowledgeable about the transaction.
The sale of shares of the healthcare unit is expected to net for Panasonic US$1 billion, where the primary businesses include blood sugar monitoring equipment, medical records keeping systems among others.
The sale of the unit is under the advisement of Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The deadline for the submission of first round bids has been set for Monday, according to anonymous sources.
For its part, Panasonic declined to provide any comment on the pending sale.
Aside from KKR, around ten other investment and buyout funds are keen on the sale. These include Bain Capital, the Carlyle Group, TPG Capital Management, CVC Capital Partners and Unison Capital. Aside from Toshiba, other manufacturers are also keen on entering the bid process.
According to Panasonic President KazuhiroTsuga said that this company is seeking a partner 'with medical knowledge and skills and capital for future growth.' This, he says, is but part of a larger company restructuring process to boost profitability and revenues.
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