GE Healthcare to become standalone business

As part of an effort to reduce debt, GE announced plans to spin off its healthcare subsidiary, GE Healthcare, into a standalone company, which will continue to be led by Kieran Murphy.

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Changes are afoot at GE. The company will separate GE Healthcare into a standalone company.

Kieran Murphy, the president and CEO of GE Healthcare, will continue at the helm of the business, which offers medical imaging, biomanufacturing and data analytics capabilities, among other services.

“As an independent global healthcare business, we will have greater flexibility to pursue future growth opportunities, react quickly to changes in the industry and invest in innovation,” he said in a statement. “We will build on strong customer demand for integrated precision health solutions and great technology with digital and analytics capabilities as we enter our next chapter.”

GE anticipates it will generate cash from the disposition of 20 percent of its interest in GE Healthcare. The other 80 percent will be distributed to GE shareholders.

The “structure, sequence and timing” of the transition are expected to be completed in the next 12 to 18 months, according to a news release.

As of late, the organization has been busy selling various assets.

Private equity firm Veritas Capital, for instance, plans to buy a GE Healthcare unit for $1.05 billion. The deal, which includes GE’s enterprise financial management, ambulatory care management and workforce management assets, is expected to close in the third quarter.

A few weeks ago, Inspirata, a cancer diagnostics company, acquired analytics firm Caradigm from GE Healthcare. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Caradigm is the second company that Inspirata has acquired from GE Healthcare this year. At the end of January, GE Healthcare sold Omnyx, a digital pathology organization, to Inspirata.

In addition to the healthcare-related news, GE said it will sell its stake in Baker Hughes, an oil company. Instead, it will focus on aviation, power and renewable energy.

The changes to GE’s structure are part of the organization’s plans to reduce debt by $25 billion by 2020.

Photo: Martin Barraud, Getty Images

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