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Baxter International is set to buy Hill-Rom Holdings Inc., an American manufacturer of medical equipment, for $10 billion, which is equivalent to about $150 per share. Insiders shared that the companies are already in the advanced stage of negotiations.
According to Fox Business, if the talks are fruitful, a deal could be reached this week. The talks was set up after Hill-Rom turned down Baxter International’s initial bid of $144 per share.
Hill-Rom’s shares remained high since the news of Baxter’s bid came out in July. In fact, its shares closed at $132.90 on Friday, Aug. 27, with a market capitalization of almost $9 billion. As for Deerfield, Illinois-headquartered health care company, its market cap is more or less $37 billion.
With Baxter’s possible acquisition of Hill-Rom, it was noted that there have been many merger deals in the health care sector this year. This is said to be happening because of the benefits that the deals can bring. Moreover, all the parties are taking advantage of the soaring stock prices used as currency.
So far this year, the takeover deals have more than doubled in the U.S. compared to last year’s pace, and it was estimated that the total could have hit $399 billion. The figures could go higher later this year as the economy bounces back after being battered by the COVID-19 pandemic for more than a year.
As mentioned in The Wall Street Journal, Baxter is a med-tech firm that has businesses dedicated to several areas in the health care field, including nutrition, surgical products, and critical care. It is about to acquire Hill-Rom, a medical equipment firm that was founded in 1915. Its leading products include hospital beds and patient-monitoring devices.
Meanwhile, Baxter’s foundation recently partnered with UNICEF USA to improve water security in Colombia. They have created this three-year program to increase the Colombians’ access to safe water as well as to improve sanitation and hygiene for children and communities.
“Millions of people around the world lack access to safe and clean water - one of life’s most critical natural resources which can be devastating for both individuals and their communities,” Baxter’s chairman and chief executive officer, José E. Almeida, said in a press release. “In support of Baxter’s mission to save and sustain lives, we are proud to expand our investment in water initiatives through a partnership with UNICEF that will support the health of communities in need.”
