NEW YORK, Aug 13 Reuters Buyout firm Carlyle Group struck a deal to acquire Baxters kidneycare unit Vantive for 3.8 billion, the companies said on Tuesday.

The proceeds from the deal, which is expected to close by early 2025, will help medicaldevice maker Baxter reduce its debt pile. Baxter, which paid down about 2.8 billion of debt last year after divesting its biopharma unit, had longterm debt of 13.8 billion at the end of 2023.

In 2022, Baxter started exploring options for its kidneycare units after completing its 10.5billion takeover of medicalequipment maker HillRom. It began the process of carving out Vantive early in 2023.

Vantive is a strong, growing business with marketleading franchises, and we are delighted to partner with the Vantive team to pursue their strategic vision through the separation from Baxter and transformation into a standalone global business, said Robert Schmidt, Carlyles global cohead of healthcare.

Atmas Health, a healthcare investment platform that was formed by Carlyle in 2022, partnered with the firm on the deal for Vantive.

Baxters kidneycare operations generated about 4.5 billion in revenue last year and have more than 23,000 employees.

This transaction is the right step at the right time for Baxter, capping off a robust process we started in early 2023, said Baxter CEO Joe Almeida.

The Wall Street Journal reported Carlyle39;s talks to acquire the Vantive unit in July.

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