Carlyle in talks to buy Baxter's kidney care unit, source says

(Reuters) -Private equity firm Carlyle Group is in exclusive talks to acquire Baxter International's kidney care spinoff Vantive for more than $4 billion, including debt, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.

Shares of the Deerfield, Illinois-based firm rose more than 4%.

The parties had entered exclusive negotiations in late June, the person said, adding that a deal could be announced in the coming weeks.

Medical device maker Baxter said in March it had been in discussions with select private equity investors to explore a potential sale of the kidney care unit more than a year after it announced plans to separate the unit amid supply-chain challenges and weak demand for dialysis operations.

Baxter had said it plans to separate the unit in the second half of the year.

Baxter declined to comment while Carlyle did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The Wall Street Journal first reported on the matter.

(Reporting by Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru and Anirban Sen in New York; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Krishna Chandra Eluri)