Baxter’s bid for Gambro ‘set for EU approval’

Baxter International is set to gain the conditional approval of European Union (EU) antitrust regulators for its bid to buy Gambro AB, sources close to the deal have told Reuters.

The acquisition of the Swedish group is set to be worth $4 billion (2.6 billion pounds) in total.

To ease competition concerns, the US organisation has agreed that it will offload its continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) business, which currently accounts for around 20 percent of Baxter International's sales.

One of the sources, who did not wish to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter, told the news provider: "The European Commission is expected to clear the deal based on the remedy."
 
Although the Commission's spokesman for competition policy Antoine Colombani, did not immediately respond to Reuter's plea for additional information or confirmation, the EU executive is currently scheduled to decide on the deal by July 22nd 2013.