Johnson & Johnson Announces Binding Offer from Platinum Equity to Acquire LifeScan, Inc.
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., [March 16, 2018] – Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) today announced that it has received a binding offer from Platinum Equity, a leading private investment firm, to acquire its LifeScan business for approximately $2.1 billion, subject to customary adjustments. LifeScan, Inc. is a leader in blood glucose monitoring products with 2017 net revenue of approximately $1.5 billion.
I don’t know whether this is good news, or that the product line would be improved.
That’s terrible! There are possibly very few (definitely in the minority), private equity firms that actually acquire a business to improve and keep it. Do they profit from #2?
They do profit from #2 by selling off the assets then shortly after is when it’s riddled with debt and bankruptcy follows.
Private Equity versus Venture Capital is very different. VC is for the purpose of growth and the VC firm doesn’t typically own more than 49%. With PE they buy control of the company so they can do what they please. It’s unfortunate but Lifescan isn’t exactly best in class in their market, I use One Touch Verio and think it’s, eh? I have used Freestyle which were a bunch of samples from my PCP and liked it 100% better but insurance won’t cover that brand.
that’s very good that you were able to obtain samples from your PCP. It’s a real bummer that for whatever reasons unclear to us, that Freestyle manufacturer has not succeeded in persuading the insurance carriers to include Freestyle in the approved drug list.
I think it was lifescans entire business model to produce poor quality strips and offer massive rebates to insurers with clauses that they had to be the sole formulary option—— in other words “you have to buy this crap whether you want it or like it or not”. As an organization I find them pretty reprehensible…
The strips aren’t as crappy for me as for you, but I think you’ve described their business model perfectly. I feel like insurance companies should be handing out test strips since these have such a huge impact on diabetes management, and with the rebates, they’re probably pretty cheap! Instead we’re paying the majority of an overinflated bill.
It’d be nice to see some other options on formularies!
I agree. When I had the discussion with my current endo (had to change because of the change in insurance plans) I was trying to explain to him to explain to the insurance company why fix what’s not broken with me? My regiment has produced excellent results, eyes are good, A1C pretty decent…etc. Yet, I’m supposed to decrease my testing and change over to inconsistent glucometer…etc. He did state that our current insurance system will pay for the complications from diabetes (kidneys, hospitalization…etc) and yet does little for pro active preventive health and wellcare. Isn’t that truly a messed up system? The “correct” behavior is not being rewarded. Instead, incorrect behavior is covered by insurance. Shaking my head.
It’s mind boggling to me why Freestyle wouldn’t be approved but I just started Omni Pod yesterday and the PDM uses Freestyle so my endo said he would get it approved by the insurance company. We’ll see if he can get it done.
