Johnson & Johnson receives $2.1B bid for LifeScan diabetes unit

Private equity group Platinum Equity has offered Johnson & Johnson $2.1 billion for LifeScan. J&J has until the middle of June to accept the offer for its blood glucose monitoring business.

J&J signaled its interest in offloading LifeScan and two other diabetes device units—Animas and Calibra Medical—at the start of last year. Since then, Chinese investors have reportedly weighed up bids for the units. But Los Angeles-based Platinum Equity has now emerged as the front-runner to buy LifeScan and its portfolio of glucose monitoring products.

As it stands, the bid is a binding offer from Platinum Equity, not a done deal. But both companies put out simultaneous statements about the offer and Platinum Equity is presenting its bid as the result of close talks with J&J.