Baxter to sell off shares of Baxalta

BANNOCKBURN - Baxter International will sell some of its shares of Baxalta to pay down debt, Baxalta announced today.

Baxalta, which split from Baxter in 2015, will hold a public offering of approximately $2.34 billion of its common stock owned by Baxter. The proceeds from the sale will used as an offering for indebtedness held by J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, BofA Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and UBS Securities LLC, who will sell the Baxalta shares to the underwriters in connection with the public offering.

Baxter's stake in Baxalta will be reduced from approximately 13.8 percent to 5.1 percent as a result of the sale.

Baxalta will not receive any proceeds from the sale of the shares in the offering or the debt-for-equity exchange.

J.P. Morgan, BofA Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse and UBS Investment Bank are acting as the underwriters for the offering.