NEW YORK-MINNEAPOLIS — Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has agreed to buy Abbott Laboratories’ eye-surgery equipment unit for $4.33bn, moving the world’s biggest maker of healthcare products towards its goal of boosting its three core businesses.The deal was expected to close in the first quarter of 2017, the companies said on Friday in separate statements.The unit, called Abbott Medical Optics, makes equipment used in surgeries to repair cataracts and in Lasik procedures to improve vision, as well as eye drops and solutions. It generated $1.13bn in sales for Abbott in 2015.J&J has been chasing deals for all three of its main businesses to boost growth and offset potential competition for prescription medicines, its largest unit. For Abbott, the divestiture is another step in CEO Miles White’s effort to refocus the company since spinning off AbbVie in 2013 and agreeing in 2016 to acquire medical testing company Alere and another device maker, St Jude Medical.Abbott’s optics unit was "a selfc...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.