3M will spin off its health care business into a new public company

3M announced Tuesday that it will spin off its health care business into a separate publicly traded company.

The new business will focus on wound and oral care, healthcare IT and biopharma filtration, the material science company said in a release. That includes products like its bandages, skin adhesives, oral aligners, air purifiers and optical lenses.

The company’s health care products also include the Bair Hugger surgical warming system, which is currently the subject of nearly 6,000 lawsuits. 3M maintains that the product has no relation to surgical-site infections.

3M health care products recorded more than $8 billion in sales in 2021. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of next year, and 3M will maintain a 19.9% stake in the new company.

The announcement comes alongside 3M’s second-quarter earnings report. The company posted adjusted earnings per share of $2.48 on revenue of $8.7 billion, surpassing analyst expectations of $2.42 per share and revenue of $8.58 billion, according to Refinitiv consensus estimates.

Shares of the company were up about 4% premarket.

3M is simultaneously spinning off its food safety business. That branch will merge with Neogen and is expected to be divested by September.

—Reuters contributed to this report.