Danaher Buys Instrument Business for $1.1 Billion

Diversified toolmaker Danaher said Wednesday it will pay $1.1 billion for MDS Inc.’s instrument business in a move to add mass spectrometers to its offerings, while cutting an additional 3,300 jobs and closing 30 facilities, The Associated Press reported.

Danaher, which makes medical equipment and Sears’ Craftsman tools, will gain 50 percent ownership in Applied Biosystems and MDS’ joint life sciences tool venture, AB Sciex, which focuses on mass spectrometers. It will also gain full ownership in the former Molecular Devices Corp., which focuses on analytical instruments.

”AB Sciex is the market leader in mass spectrometry and its instruments address the needs of a broad scientific community involved in many applications including the research, applied and clinical markets,” said Danaher President and Chief Executive Officer H. Lawrence Culp Jr., in a statement.

He said the purchase will compliment the company’s existing medical technologies business.

Under the deal, MDS will receive $650 million while Life Technologies will receive $450 million for the joint venture deal. Life Technologies, based in Carlsbad, Calif., was created by the merger of Invitrogen and Applied Biosystems.

Meanwhile, MDS said the sale allows it to focus solely on its Nordion business, which provides medical isotopes for molecular and diagnostic imaging, along with radiotherapeutics.

”The board and executive management team believe the proposed path forward provides the greatest opportunity to unlock the value of MDS businesses in the near-term and enables a substantial return of proceeds from the sale of the MDS Analytical Technologies business to shareholders,” said MDS Chairman James S. A. MacDonald in a statement.

Meanwhile, Danaher’s restructuring program will cost between $225 million and $250 million, up from prior estimates of $150 million to $170 million. The company says it will save about $220 million annually because of the measures.