American medical device company Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD) is reportedly considering the divestiture of its life sciences unit at a valuation of $30bn.

BD may announce the separation of its biosciences and diagnostic solutions unit during its earnings report later this week, reported Reuters, citing undisclosed sources.

Activist investor Starboard Value has acquired a stake in BD and is urging the $72bn medical technology firm to sell its life sciences unit, the Financial Times had earlier reported.  

The unit produces diagnostic products for detecting infectious diseases and cancers, along with substances used in research.

According to the publication, it is not clear how much stake Starboard Value has obtained, but the activist investor did meet with BD’s management. Starboard Value has also issued a letter to BD’s board regarding its opinion.

Other shareholders have also started pushing for BD to spin out its life sciences business. However, the arrival of Starboard Value on the company’s shareholder register is expected to add urgency to the process, as per the news report.

In 2024, New Jersey-based BD acquired Edwards Lifesciences’ critical care unit for $4.2bn. The divested unit sells advanced blood and heart monitoring systems used in surgery and intensive care.  

Through its medical division, BD mainly sells drug delivery devices, including catheters, infusion pumps, and prefillable syringes.

Its life sciences business raked in $5.2bn in sales in fiscal year 2024, making up more than a quarter of the total revenue of BD.

The unit includes BD’s integrated diagnostic solutions (IDS) and biosciences (BDB) businesses. IDS focuses on specimen management technologies, while BDB offers technologies such as cell analysers and cancer reagents.

In 2022, BD offloaded its diabetes care business into a separate entity, Embecta. The following year, it sold its surgical instrumentation platform to Steris.