Bayer in exclusive talks to sell blood plasma unit

German health-care giant Bayer AG is in exclusive discussions with a potential buyer for its blood plasma business, which employs 1,400 people at its plant in Clayton, Reuters reported Tuesday.

German health-care giant Bayer AG is in exclusive discussions with a potential buyer for its blood plasma business, which employs 1,400 people at its plant in Clayton, Reuters reported Tuesday.Citing an industry source, Reuters said that U.S. investment firm Cerberus Capital Management and Melville, N.Y.-based Precision Pharma Services had entered a joint bid for Clayton unit, which makes health-care products from blood plasma. Reuters listed a potential sale price of more than 500 million euros, or $614 million.The blood plasma business is a part of Research Triangle Park-based Bayer Biological Products. Tricia McKernan, director of public policy and communications for Bayer Biological Products, told Triangle Business Journal she couldn’t confirm or deny “ongong speculation” on the blood plasma business sale. She said the company would not comment until there is a signed deal for selling the plasma business.Bayer announced last year that it was looking to sell the plasma unit.Reuters quotes its source as saying that Cerberus and Precision had outbid two other potential buyers, Boston-based Bain Capital and Washington, D.C.-based The Carlyle Group. The sources also says that the exclusive negotiating period is not expected to last long, meaning that a deal would have to be reached soon. Reuters did not offer a specific time period.A spokesman with Precision Pharma Services told Triangle Business Journal that his company would have no comment on the Reuters story. Precision Pharma Services offers outsourcing services to biological and pharmaceutical companies. (Source: Bizjournals, August 2004)