Beckman Coulter Inc, a leading US biomedical diagnostics instrument maker, will acquire the diagnostic systems division of Olympus's life sciences business for about $800 million, a the companies said in a joint statement.

The transfer of Olympus's diagnostic systems business will make Beckman one of the top three global players in the chemistry market.

Olympus Corporation, a Tokyo-headquartered precision technology leader, makes opto-digital solutions in healthcare, life science and consumer electronics.

California-based Beckman develops, manufactures and markets products and solutions for complex biomedical tests.

''This compelling transaction combines the chemistry product lines of our two companies into a complete chemistry systems offering. It enhances Beckman Coulter as a leading provider of chemistry products with additional opportunities to expand our immunoassay reach into their chemistry installed base," Scott Garrett, Beckman's chairman, president and chief executive officer, said.

This acquisition will broaden Beckman Coulter's offerings and give it a leadership position with particular strengths in larger hospital laboratories. In addition, the transaction will extend its customer base, and help it penetrate into a broader immunoassay products market space, the company said in a release.

Olympus's diagnostics business is expected to improve Beckman's revenue by around $500 million on a full year basis by 2010, and generate about $40 to $50 million in operating income.
 
Beckman Coulter expects combined pre-tax savings of between $50 and $60 million from Olympus's current operating expenses of about $200 million and Beckman's operating expenses of more than $1 billion by 2010.

Savings are expected from leveraging existing global infrastructure and integrating sales, service, administrative and research and development activities.

"The customers will benefit from the expanded range of products, particularly those large hospital and university laboratories where higher throughput systems are preferred. In addition, Beckman Coulter's strength in total lab automation will be complemented by Olympus' strong pre-analytical automation position in Europe and Asia," Garrett added.

Beckman Coulter expects to finance the acquisition with a combination of newly issued stock (approximately $300 million) and debt of $500 million.

More than 200,000 Beckman Coulter systems operate in laboratories around the world, supplying critical information for improving patient health and reducing the cost of care. Recurring revenue, consisting of consumable supplies, (including reagent test kits), service and operating-type lease payments, represent about 78 per cent of the company's FY08 revenue of $3.1 billion.

Beckman's revenue for the fourth quarter of FY08 stood at $811.3 million, up 2.8 per cent from the same period last year, on robust sales to clinical diagnostics customers, partially offset by a decline in life sciences revenue.

Its net earnings for the quarter increased to $77.2 million, or $1.21 per fully diluted share.

Earlier this month, Beckman Coulter forecast a profit of $3.85 to $4.05 per share in 2009, and revenue of $3.22 billion to $3.28 billion.

For the full year ended 31 March 2008, Olympus had consolidated revenues of $11.6 billion. Its diagnostic systems business generated revenue of 52.7 billion yen in the most recent financial year ended March 2008.

The transaction, expected to close in the third quarter of 2009, is subject to customary government approvals, the finalisation of certain ancillary agreements, and the disclosure schedules as well as other customary conditions.