Wounded by a Partner?

Editors' note: A previous version of this article stated that there was a possibility that Omrix's products would be sold by One Equity Partners. Omrix has stated that this is not the case. The Motley Fool regrets the confusion.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) is thinking about selling its wound-care business to a private equity group, One Equity Partners. I don't think Johnson & Johnson's investors should really care one way or another; the unit's $270 million in sales last year made up less than 1% of Johnson & Johnson's revenue. But investors in Motley Fool Rule Breakers pick Omrix Biopharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: OMRI) should pay close attention to the deal.

Johnson & Johnson's wound-management division markets all of Omrix's biosurgical products, and the two are also working together to develop a fribrin patch that combines a physical barrier with a biologically active component to stop bleeding.

The health-care conglomerate has until Aug. 22 to decide whether it will accept the offer for an undisclosed amount of money. (You can get away with these types of vague press releases when you're as large as Johnson & Johnson.)

Unsurprisingly, there's not quite enough information in the press releases, 10-Ks, and other public documents to know exactly what will happen, but according to Omrix's management, Johnson & Johnson will continue to sell Omrix's products, even though it's selling off its wound closure business because the products fall in a different division. That doesn't sound like the best arrangement for Omrix, since hocking related wares likely helps move Omrix's products indirectly. Omrix put a rosy spin on the situation, though, pointing out that now Johnson & Johnson will have more time to focus on its products.

Johnson & Johnson hasn't been doing terribly well against ZymoGenetics (Nasdaq: ZGEN) and King Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: KG) in the battle of the thrombins since Omrix's version came on the market last year, although it has been doing a good job pushing Omrix's Evicel -- its fibrin sealant used to stop surgical bleeding. Still, it might have been better if Johnson & Johnson's garage sale had allowed Omrix to shop around for another marketing partner that sells wound-management products like Kinetic Concepts (NYSE: KCI) or Covidien (NYSE: COV).