Topic: How To Invest

Spinoffs, Takeovers and Special Situations Hotline – Friday, May 4, 2018

Article Excerpt

DANAHER CORP., $100.20, symbol DHR on New York, makes precision testing equipment and tools. Its major customers include medical research labs, dentists and municipal water utilities. Its brands include Beckman Coulter, ChemTreat, Pantone, and Kavo Kerr. In April 2018, Danaher approached General Electric Co. (symbol GE on New York) about buying the industrial conglomerate’s life sciences business; that operation makes blood-collection kits as well as equipment for biotechnology drug production and research. With $4.6 billion in annual revenue for 2017—and at an estimated value of $20 billion—GE’s life sciences business would have been a big, potentially profitable addition to Danaher’s own life sciences business. It generated $5.7 billion in sales for Danaher in 2017. GE has been restructuring its businesses and conducting a strategic review. That has prompted a number of companies like Danaher to attempt to buy GE’s fastest-growing and most profitable operations at bargain prices. For now, GE appears to have little interest in selling its life sciences division. That could change…