Abbott to spin off nutrition business

· Agriculture & Food · United States

Abbott said it plans to spin out its nutrition business into a separate company, citing growing demand for functional nutrition. The unit includes Ensure and Pedialyte, the adult and pediatric nutrition brands the company currently owns. The company gave no other details in the report. Abbott is a large healthcare and consumer-products group; spinning off nutrition would separate the food side from its medical devices and diagnostics business and create a new standalone player in the functional-nutrition market. The move is the latest reshuffle among big food and health companies as demand grows for products marketed for specific health benefits.

Why it matters：If completed, the spin-off would create a major standalone functional-nutrition company and add pressure on rivals in adult and pediatric nutrition to consolidate or sharpen their portfolios.

Key points

  • The unit includes Ensure and Pedialyte.
  • Abbott frames the move as a way to capitalize on functional-nutrition demand.
  • Terms and timing were not disclosed.

Sources (original reporting)

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