Smiths Group PLC (LON:SMIN), the FTSE100 engineering conglomerate, has received a £2.0bn takeover offer from US private equity firm TA Associates for its medical division, according to reports.
Talks are understood to be at an advanced stage, the Mail on Sunday reported, citing "City sources", although a price has yet to be agreed. Earlier in the year, the two groups failed to reach an agreement on the price, the paper said.
Goldman Sachs are reported to be working on the deal.
READ: Smiths Group raises dividend with medical division demerger on track
Smiths, one of the UK’s last industrial conglomerates, has been looking to spin off its struggling medical products division since the end of 2018 and in March 2019 said it was looking to list it as a separate company on the London Stock Exchange.
This March, the group announced that the planned demerger of the medical arm remained on track for the end of 2021, with the potential alternative of a UK listing.
Analysts at broker Peel Hunt said: "We await confirmation from the company on the path forward, however would expect market interest in Smiths to improve following any such separation, which would leave a more focused business centred around high-quality industrial technologies."