Baxter is considering the sale of its kidney care business to private equity firm Carlyle Group for more than $4 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

Exclusive negotiations about a potential sale started in late June, the Journal reported, citing unnamed sources. A deal could be announced “in the coming weeks,” although the talks could still fall apart, according to the report.

More than a year after announcing plans to separate the unit due to supply-chain issues and waning demand for dialysis operations, Baxter said in March that it has been in talks with selected private equity investors about the possibility of selling the kidney care unit.

The proposed spinoff of the kidney care company was first announced in 2023 as Baxter sought to combine its renal care and acute therapies divisions.

The separation is expected to take place in the second half of this year, whether through a sale to a private equity firm or a spinoff into a publicly-traded company. At that point, the newly-separated unit will be branded under the name Vantive.

Chris Toth, EVP and group president of kidney care at Baxter, will serve as CEO of Vantive upon completion of the separation.

Last year, Carlyle was rumored to be in the running to acquire the patient monitoring and respiratory interventions businesses from Medtronic for more than $7 billion. The deal never materialized however, and Medtronic opted instead to restructure.

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