DuPont to Sell Its Medical Products Units : Assets: The sale will help pay for the $8.8-billion buyback of its shares from Seagram in April.

DuPont Co. said Friday that it plans to sell its medical products businesses to help pay for the April buyback of its shares from Seagram Co.

The four businesses that will be sold have combined annual sales of about $1 billion and six U.S. manufacturing sites.

The medical products businesses were chosen because consolidation is under way in the health care industry, making the businesses attractive to potential buyers, said John Landon, vice president and general manager of DuPont Medical Products.

“Our earnings potential, technology position and marketing expertise will be very attractive to prospective buyers,” he said in a written statement.

DuPont repurchased 156 million of its shares from Canadian beverage company Seagram for $8.8 billion, which reduced its outstanding shares by roughly 23%.

Seagram’s sale of the DuPont stock financed its purchase of MCA Inc., the Los Angeles-based entertainment giant, from Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. of Japan.

The chemical and oil company had previously said it would sell about $2 billion in assets to help finance the stock purchase.

The biggest of the medical businesses being offered for sale is the Diagnostic Imaging unit, which makes X-ray and electronic imaging equipment and has $535 million in annual sales.

Also for sale are In-vitro Diagnostics, which supplies clinical chemistry analyzers to hospitals and health care centers and has $335 million in annual sales; New England Nuclear, which makes research chemicals and has sales of $110 million, and Sorvall Centrifuges, which supplies centrifuges and accessories for scientific research and has sales of $75 million.

The potential sale does not include DuPont’s interest in DuPont Merck Pharmaceutical Co., an equally owned venture with drug maker Merck & Co.

There is no timetable for a sale, but one is expected to be completed quickly, DuPont spokesman Mike Ricciuto said.

“At DuPont, we have many industries, and our commitment to future growth is really in chemicals and energy,” he said.

DuPont shares gained 50 cents on the news, closing at $67.50 on the New York Stock Exchange.