Bayer Diagnostics Gets Rolling
Executive Summary
Bayer AG's purchase of Chiron Diagnostics for $1.1 billion in cash demonstrates its commitment to diagnostics and also indicates Chiron Corp.'s negotiating savvy. Bayer is buying Chiron Diagnostics in order to get access to its immunoassay, critical care and nucleic acid probe businesses, as well as additional sales and marketing support to help it roll out a plethora of new products in the next year. Chiron is getting out of diagnostics in order to concentrate on pharmaceuticals and doesn't yet know how it will use the money. But Chiron is retaining rights to HCV and to the blood screening business and expects the deal in its entirety to generate $2 billion for it over the next few years.