3M’s Healthcare Business to Stand on Its Own in April

3M Healthcare will complete the spin-off of Solventum, its healthcare business, on April 1. The St. Paul, MN-based company filed a form 10 registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

3M first announced the spinoff in July of 2022. Solventum, which had sales of $8.2 billion in 2023, will focus on wound care, healthcare IT, oral care, and biopharma filtration. 3M said it would retain a 19.9% stake in the business.

The spinoff received its name in November of 2023. 3M said Solventum originates from two words: “solving” and “momentum.” 3M said "Solving" captures the company's dedication to finding breakthrough solutions, while "momentum" symbolizes swifter, nimbler innovation. 3M said the name represents how the independent healthcare company will focus on solving big healthcare challenges and emphasizes the impact it can make on the world.

In August of 2023, Bryan Hanson stepped down from his post at the helm of Zimmer Biomet to serve as CEO of 3M’s healthcare spinoff.

 The Spin is still in

About three years ago a trend emerged in medtech that had larger companies engaging in divestitures and spinoffs. The mega-merger or large-scale mergers began to take a back seat to the spin-offs.

Since then, companies such as GE Healthcare, ZimVie, and Embecta have stepped onto the scene making a strong impact in healthcare.

Related:3M Begins Payments in $6B Defective Earplug Settlement

3M’s spinoff plans came at a time when there were lawsuits from military members who used the company’s allegedly defective earplugs, according to a report from Reuters.

However, there has been one company to somewhat go against the trend - Medtronic.  Earlier this week, the Dublin-based company nixed plans to divest its patient monitoring and interventions businesses.  Medtronic began shopping around the idea of spinning off the businesses in October of 2022.