Covidien completes sale of sleep therapy and chemicals units

Covidien has completed its move to sell off two of its business units in a bid to refocus its corporate strategies.

The medical device company has divested its sleep therapy continuous positive airway pressure and bi-level products to the privately-held business PH Invest, while its specialty chemicals unit has been sold to an affiliate of New Mountain Capital.

Both deals have been previously announced by Covidien and include the transfer of brands such as GoodKnight and Sandman, as well as a manufacturing facility in Nancy, France.

These decisions were taken following a review and evaluation of a number of strategies and are not expected to affect the company's operating income or earnings per share figures for the 2010 or 2011 fiscal years.

The company explained: "The decision is consistent with Covidien's strategy to streamline its portfolio and reallocate resources to its faster-growing, higher-margin businesses, where the company has, or can develop, a global competitive advantage."

Earlier this month, Covidien published its financial report for the third quarter of its 2010 fiscal year, during which net sales increased by two per cent year-on-year.