Bayer AG has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Diabetes Care business to Panasonic Healthcare Holdings Co Ltd, a company which is backed by funds sponsored by leading global investment firm KKR and the Panasonic Corporation. The total consideration for the transaction is EUR 1,022 million (JPY 138 billion).  

Closing of the transaction is subject to customary conditions, including relevant antitrust clearance, and is expected to occur in the first quarter of 2016.

The sale will include the leading Contour portfolio of blood glucose monitoring meters and strips, as well as other products such as Breeze 2, Elite and Microlet lancing devices.

“We are confident that the sale of our Diabetes Care business to our long-standing partner Panasonic Healthcare, with the strong backing of KKR, will support the long-term sustainability of this portfolio,” said Werner Baumann, member of the Board of Management of Bayer AG and chief executive officer of Bayer HealthCare.

“For more than 20 years, our companies have shared complementary goals. We anticipate that this partnership will take our two great businesses to new heights, and we wholly welcome the BDC team as full partners to Panasonic Healthcare,” said Kenji Yamane, President of Panasonic Healthcare and Panasonic Healthcare Holdings Co Ltd.

Johannes Huth, member and head of KKR Europe, Africa and Middle East, and Hiro Hirano, member and chief executive officer of KKR Japan, said "We are pleased that Bayer Diabetes Care chose Panasonic Healthcare and KKR as the trusted partners for bringing the business to its next stage of development. This is another milestone in KKR's track record of partnering with leading German and Japanese corporates and in growing top health care companies. Together, we will leverage our experience and network to create a global diabetes care solutions powerhouse in an effort to make this a transformational transaction for the diabetes care industry."

Bayer’s Diabetes Care business is a technological leader in blood glucose monitoring systems, lancing devices and diabetes management software. The business accounted for EUR 909 million in sales in 2014, with Contour being the principal product portfolio. The Contour portfolio includes Contour Next, Contour Plus, Contour and Contour TS and is designed to meet the needs of all patients regardless of type of diabetes, stage of disease, or testing frequency. Other products include Breeze 2, Brio, Entrust, Elite and Microlet lancing devices.

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, agriculture and high-tech polymer materials. As an innovation company, it sets trends in research-intensive areas.