Monday, February 07, 2011

Danaher to buy Beckman Coulter for $5.8 billion

NEW YORK | Mon Feb 7, 2011 2:33pm EST
 
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Danaher Corp has struck a deal to buy medical diagnostics company Beckman Coulter Inc for $5.8 billion in cash, its biggest bet yet on the medical technology business.
The deal, which would pit the combined company against 3M and General Electric, values Beckman at $83.50 a share. That's 11 percent more than its closing price on Friday and roughly 45 percent above the company's price in December before rumors of a takeover entered the marketplace.
Beckman shares jumped 9.8 percent to $82.51 in morning trading, a bit below the offer price -- suggesting investors do not expect a higher bidder to emerge. Danaher was up 3.2 percent at $49.51 after rising to $50.29, a lifetime high.
The transaction is valued at about $6.8 billion including assumed debt, the companies said. They expect the deal to close in the first half of the year. ...
An aging population and more emphasis on preventive medical care, along with growth of medical technology in markets like China, make clinical diagnostics an attractive $25 billion market, Danaher Chief Executive Officer Larry Culp said.
Danaher outbid at least two private equity consortia -- one made up of Blackstone Group and TPG Capital, the second made up of Apollo Management and Carlyle Group -- that also submitted final offers for Beckman last week, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. ...










About:
Beckman Coulter, Inc. (Wikipedia)
Danaher Corp. (Wikipedia)

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