Siemens to Buy Bayer Health Unit

German engineering conglomerate Siemens plans to bulk up its medical business by buying the diagnostics unit of drug and chemical firm Bayer for $5.3 billion.

The acquisition, the second major purchase by Siemens’ thriving healthcare unit in two months, would make the Munich-based giant the world’s second-largest player in immunodiagnostics, which involves using antibodies to diagnose disease, it said Thursday.

The move would raise cash for Bayer, which is acquiring rival German drug maker Schering for almost $22 billion. The deal would simplify the structure of Bayer, which has been criticized for running diverse businesses under one roof.

“For the first time in the healthcare industry, an integrated diagnostics company is being created by combining the entire imaging diagnostics, laboratory diagnostics and clinical [information technology] value chain under one roof,” Siemens said.