Matthew Daneman
Staff writer
Private equity giant The Carlyle Group expects to sign a deal to purchase Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics within a day or so, and then start investing in the company’s research and development operations in Monroe County, said U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer and a person with knowledge of the matter.
Johnson & Johnson said in January 2013 it was looking into a possible sale or spinoff of its Ortho- Clinical business, which specializes in diagnostic test and screening equipment found in medical offices and labs. In recent weeks, Carlyle reportedly has been the top suitor, negotiating a purchase with J&J, though J&J has declined repeatedly to comment.
Schumer said Wednesday that he talked with top management at Carlyle this week and was told a deal is imminent and that under Carlyle, “They actually intend to grow the business in Rochester.”
A person with knowledge of the negotiations confirmed that Carlyle’s business plan includes investing in Carlyle’s local R&D operations with a goal of new product commercialization.
Meanwhile, Schumer said, “The manufacturing will stay stable. So this is very good news.”
Ortho-Clinical, headquartered in Raritan, N.J., employs close to 1,100 in Rochester and Greece. Johnson & Johnson acquired the Rochester- area operations from Eastman Kodak Co. in 1994.
Carlyle spokesman Randall Whitestone declined comment. Carlyle has a history of buying parts of corporations and building them up into large, standalone businesses. It was part of a consortium of private equity firms that bought Dunkin’ Brands in 2005 from a French liquor company. Dunkin’ Brands, owner of Dunkin’ Donuts, became a publicly traded company in 2011. Carlyle similarly was part of a collection of private equity groups that bought car rental company Hertz Group in 2005 and then made it a publicly traded company a year later.
MDANEMAN Chronicle.com Twitter.com/mdaneman
a12iggymom's Blog 