The announced sales of three healthcare units within Siemens Healthcare may indicate the company is looking to expand in non-healthcare areas, says Kalorama Information. Siemens hasn’t announced any further sales. The healthcare market research firm says that Siemens is the third largest company in IVD, according to Kalorama Information’s biennial survey of the IVD market, with 5.5 billion in IVD revenues last year, and any change in its composition would likely affect IVD market shares.
Siemens just announced the sale of its hearing aid business for $2.68 billion to private equity firm EQT Partners and Santo Holding. EQT will hold a majority stake, with Santo holding a smaller share. Siemens will keep a preferred equity investment in the unit. The unit earned 860.8 million) 2014, and EBITA of $180.1 million.
“If the recent sale of its audiology unit was the only such move made this year, there would be no question about the place of Siemens in the healthcare market,” said Bruce Carlson, Publisher of Kalorama Information. “But this recent sale is one of three, so industry observers are wondering about future moves.”
In July, Siemens agreed to sell its clinical microbiology business to Beckman Coulter, a subsidiary of Danaher Corp. Then In August, Cerner bought health their IT business for $1.3 billion in cash.
“We can’t claim to know what the firm plans, but even a small change in the IVD offering from the third-largest player would be dramatic,” Carlson said. “And it will be interesting to see what companies in the market pick up the various business units or the entire IVD operation if that’s how events turn out.”
There is no indication that Siemens will take any further actions. For its part, Siemens is saying that the Healthcare unit will remain part of Siemens. CEO Joe Kaeser said during a recent earnings call that the healthcare unit will remain and operate as a “company within the company.” Yet, the firm’s assumed priority since a recent management change has been in energy. In September, Siemens announced its plans to purchase American oil equipment company Dresser-Rand Group for $6.4 billion, and that investment is read by some in healthcare as pointing to where the company’s long-term interests lie.
Kalorama Information’s report, The Worldwide Market for In Vitro Diagnostic Tests, 9th Edition provides detailed profiles of Siemens and other significant IVD companies.