CareFusion target ‘no longer for sale’

CareFusion's former acquisition target Smiths Group's medical division is no longer up for sale.

Smiths posted first half figures that showed earnings had fallen dramatically after the multi-billion-dollar offer from CareFusion fell through.

Various reports detailed that CareFusion had been in talks to pay as much as $3.3 billion (two billion pounds) for Smiths Medical, but those negotiations collapsed in August 2013.

Now after releasing H1 figures, the European engineering conglomerate says it plans to keep the company together amid a tough first half.

Speaking to the telegraph, Smiths Group chief executive officer Philip Bowman said: "It's not a question of regrets or no regrets. In order to sell something, you have to believe that an offer is deliverable and represents value. We didn't believe it did."

CareFusion continues to name Smiths Medical as one of its primary competitors in the procedural solutions market, according to the company's most recent 10-K SEC filing.