(Reuters) – Private equity firm The Carlyle Group Baxter International Inc (NYSE:BAX) is in exclusive talks to buy kidney care company Vantiv for more than $4 billion, including debt, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.
Shares of the Deerfield, Illinois-based company rose more than 4%.
The source said the two parties entered into exclusive negotiations in late June, adding that the deal could be announced in the coming weeks.
Medical device maker Baxter said in March it was in discussions with select private equity investors to explore a potential sale of its kidney care unit, more than a year after it announced plans to spin off the unit amid supply chain challenges and weak demand for dialysis.
Baxter said it plans to spin off the unit in the second half of the year.
Baxter declined to comment, while Carlyle did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The Wall Street Journal was the first to report this story.