Several sources have reported that a consortium of Chinese bidders is looking to scoop up several diabetes care companies owned by Johnson & Johnson. The deal could be worth as much as $4 billion.
The anonymous sources told Reuters that the group of bidders is led by Sinocare Inc., a company that manufactures blood sugar monitoring systems. The J&J-owned companies that could be a part of the deal include LifeSpan Inc., Calibra Medical Inc. and Animas Corp.
None of the parties confirmed that bidding is underway for such a deal. But J&J indicated last year that it was evaluating options for the companies.
The global market for diabetes treatments is expected to grow rapidly in the next decade — from $6.6 billion in 2016 to $20 billion by 2025. About 60 percent of the world’s diabetes cases are in Asia. The World Health Organization estimates that about one out of three diabetes patients currently lives in China.
Nevertheless, the J&J diabetes businesses have seen revenues decline amid tough competition.