Baxter International Plans To Split In Two

In the latest of a series of big U.S. corporate breakups, Baxter International Inc., the world’s largest hospital supply company, said Tuesday it will split in two.

A global medical technology company will keep the Baxter name and will include products such as kidney dialysis equipment, heart valves, blood collection and storage gear, intravenous fluids and pumps and biotechnology.

The yet-to-be-named counterpart will be spun off in a distribution of new shares to current Baxter stockholders. That company will include Baxter’s hospital instrument business such as scalpels and syringes and will provide products and services to help health maintenance organizations, hospitals and other health care providers manage their costs.