Danaher Corp. (DHR), the designer and manufacturer of various medical, industrial, commercial, and consumer products, recently announced a deal with Beckman Coulter Inc., a biomedical testing instrument manufacturer, worth approximately $5.87 billion.
If the deal closes in June of this year as expected, Beckman Coulter will become a major component in Danaher’s life sciences and diagnostics department, making the life sciences unit the biggest department in the company.
Danaher Corporation has reached an agreement to pay $85.30 per Beckman share, a 45% premium over the share price reported for Beckman back on December 9th, a day before the M&A news hit the market. Danaher has valued the purchase at $6.8 billion, which includes Beckman Coulter’s debt and its cash that is on hand. The deal is expected to close before the first half of this year, depending mostly on Beckman Coulter’s shareholders tendering their shares for the deal. Beckman’s board had a unanimous decision on the sale, all in favor of it.
After news of the official merger and acquisition hit, shares for both Beckman and Danaher surged by 9.8% and 3.6% respectively. Danaher Corp. reported revenue of $13.2 billion in 2010, $2.3 billion coming from the life sciences business alone. Beckman Coulter has yet to report its end of the year results, but had reported $2.68 billion revenue for the initial 9 months of 2010.
Beckman Coulter dealt with major setbacks last year that had a firm impact on the company’s performance. The company announced in March of 2010 that they would have to get a brand new regulatory approval for the AccuTnl test kit, which is used to determine if a patient has had a heart attack. The FDA reported that the company seemed to have made changes to the kits that were not approved later in July. The company also faced a downward turn in terms of its second quarter profits. Chairman, CEO, and President unexpectedly left his chair and resigned in September after being with the company for five years. Beckman Coulter was also linked with some potential companies that were rumored to be acquire the company, such as Blackstone Group LP and Apollo Management LLC.
“Beckman Coulter is an iconic company with a great brand, broad reach and technology leadership; well positioned in the markets it serves,” said Danaher CEO Lawrence Culp Jr. “Beckman provides an excellent complement to our existing Life Sciences & Diagnostics businesses.”
Danaher Corporation, which works with its subsidiaries to design, manufacture, and market professional, medical, industrial, and commercial products, mainly distributes its products in the US and internationally. The company mainly works in four distinct segments: Professional Instrumentation, Medical Technologies, Industrial Technologies, and Tools and Components. Danaher offers a wide variety of products including: analytical instruments to detect different parameters in drinking water, environmental monitoring and leak detection systems, and remote monitoring and outsourced fuel management services. The medical tech segment provides instrumentation for pathology diagnostics, acute care, and other clinical medical professional instruments.
For more information on the company, visit their website www.danaher.com
Backman Coulter, Inc. is a provider of biomedical testing instrument systems, tests, and supplies for clinical labs around the world. The company manufacturers various chemistry systems, such as routine chemistry systems that use electrochemical detection, and chemical reactions with patient samples to detect substances in blood, urine, and other bodily fluids. The company also is a provider of immunoassay systems performing tests that assess thyroid function and monitor other factors such as anemia, blood viruses, and infectious diseases. The company is located in Brea, California and was founded in 1934.
For more information on Beckman Coulter, visit www.beckmancoulter.com
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