Blackstone Group Inc. and Cinven are among buyout firms weighing bids for the medical equipment business of U.K. industrial conglomerate

Smiths Group Plc, people familiar with the matter said.

The private equity firms are in early discussions with banks as they consider potential offers for the business, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. The unit makes devices such as patient monitors and drug delivery systems that are used in ambulances, hospitals and care homes.

Smiths Group, which has a market value of about 6.5 billion pounds ($7.9 billion), has been planning to
separate the medical business after talks to
combine it with U.S. rival ICU Medical Inc. collapsed last year. When the company announced
details of a planned listing of the unit in March, the board said it will “continue to evaluate all opportunities for value maximization.”

While the focus has been the listing, Smiths Group is open to considering offers, the people said. It may wait until it has a better view on potential equity market valuations before seriously engaging with any suitors, one of the people said.

No final decisions have been made, and there’s no certainty the suitors will submit formal bids, the people said. Representative for Blackstone, Cinven and Smiths Group declined to comment.

Smiths Medical reported 885 million pounds of sales for the year through July 2018, making it the group’s biggest division by that measure. It posted operating profit of 152 million pounds.

Private equity firms, sitting on historically large piles of uninvested cash, are increasingly scouting for acquisitions to put their capital to work. U.K. companies are proving to be attractive targets this year as bidders
take advantage of the drop in the pound in the lead up to Brexit.

— With assistance by Aaron Kirchfeld