AstraZeneca Plc (AZN) is close to an agreement to sell Astra Tech, a Swedish maker of dental implants and medical devices, to Dentsply International Inc. (XRAY) for about $1.8 billion, said a person with knowledge of the sale. No deal has been reached and the talks may still fall apart, said the person, who declined to be identified because the process is confidential. London-based AstraZeneca had sought about $2 billion for Astra Tech. AstraZeneca decided to consider a sale because Astra Tech isn’t central to the company’s strategy and potential buyers had expressed interest, Chief Financial Officer Simon Lowth said in January. The drugmaker, the U.K.’s second-largest after GlaxoSmithKline Plc, is focused on developing new patented pharmaceuticals to replace sales that will be lost to generic competitors, Chief Executive Officer David Brennan has said.
