最近几个月一直有传言表示诺华公司可能会出售其部分疫苗和诊断部门。而今天诺华公司宣布将以16亿8千万美元的价格出售其输血诊断部门给西班牙的Grifols公司。这也意味着诺华公司开始正式着手剥离其疫苗、动物健康以及消费品等领域业务。分析人士估计，剩余的疫苗和诊断部门可能会使诺华公司获得60亿美元的收入。公司CEO表示，这起出售案使得公司能够更专注于未来的战略领域，有利于公司的发展。

详细英文报道：

Expectations that Novartis ($NVS) will sell off its vaccine and diagnostic unit have ratcheted up in recent months, with management becoming receptive to the idea after seeing the business post operating losses in each of the past three years. Now, the long-anticipated breakup of the business has begun.

Novartis has agreed to sell its blood-transfusion diagnostics unit to Spain-based Grifols for $1.68 billion. The Swiss drugmaker acquired the blood business in the 2006 takeover of Chiron that created its vaccine and diagnostic division, and its sale is being interpreted as a sign that Novartis will eventually divest the rest of the unit. Vaccines, animal health and consumer products are all reportedly on the block, with CEO Joe Jimenez keen to sell off businesses that lack the clout to compete in the top tier of their sectors.

The blood-transfusion diagnostics unit fell into this category. "This is a good deal for Novartis. It allows us to focus on our strategic businesses. It also provides good value for us on what is a good business but not a business we had decided to grow aggressively," Jimenez told Bloomberg. A spokesperson declined to comment to the publication about whether Novartis is seeking a buyer for the vaccine division, but some analysts who have spoken to company executives are convinced a sale is a distinct possibility.

After divesting the $1.68 billion blood business, analysts think Novartis could get $6 billion for the rest of the vaccine and diagnostic unit. And, while takeovers on this scale have a patchy record of success, there is a belief that the deal represents a straightforward proposition. "An established player in vaccines that already has critical mass should be able to relatively easily integrate this operation into its own business, creating significant synergies in the process," a Jefferies analyst wrote in an investor note seen by AFP.