GE makes $1 billion Thermo deal
pharmafile | January 7, 2014 | News story | Sales and Marketing | general electric, merger, thermo fisher
General Electric Company is to pay around $1.06 billion in a bid to boost its life sciences capability in pharma’s first major merger and acquisition activity of 2014.
GE is purchasing three businesses from Massachusetts-based laboratory testing equipment specialist Thermo Fisher Scientific – cell culture (sera and media), gene modulation and magnetic beads – which help in the growing of cell lines and the purification of DNA.
Their combined revenue last year is expected to be $250 million, and GE will rely on them to help bolster vaccines and diagnostics development.
They will be absorbed into GE Healthcare’s Life Sciences division, whose activities include basic cell, protein and drug discovery research, as well as providing tools which support biopharma manufacturing.
“Life sciences is one of our strongest and fastest-growing business areas, driven by the world’s demand for improved diagnostics and new, safer medicines,” said GE Healthcare chief executive John Dineen.
“Combining GE’s engineering expertise with our capabilities in life sciences is already bringing great benefits to industry, research and patients,” he added. “This deal makes a good business even better and will help us realise our vision of bringing better healthcare to more people at lower cost.”
Selling off the businesses, which are currently part of Thermo Fisher’s analytical technologies segment, will help the company to gain European Commission approval for its own pending $13.6 billion acquisition of gene mapping company Life Technologies Corporation.
The US Federal Trade Commission also has its eye on the deal but Thermo Fisher says it “does not believe any additional divestures will be required in order to receive US approval”.
The company is “working with the remaining jurisdictions to obtain the approvals required to complete the acquisition as soon as possible, and continues to expect to close in early 2014”.
Thermo Scientific, Fisher Scientific and Unity Lab Services are the firm’s marquee brands.
Adam Hill
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