GE Healthcare to acquire the UK-based Whatman

Boston: US conglomerate GE Group Company GE Healthcare has decided to acquire lab equipment maker Whatman Plc for £363 million, or $713 million.

Under the terms of the acquisition, each Whatman shareholder will receive 270 pence in cash for each Whatman share, valuing Whatman at approximately £363 million (approximately $713 million.)

The acquisition is subject to approval by Whatman's shareholders as well as customary regulatory approvals.

Whatman is a global supplier of filtration products and technologies, with a well-recognised brand, and a strong sector expertise.  The company has a broad product offering of filters and membranes for laboratory, research, life sciences and medical technology applications.  

GE Healthcare's Life Sciences business is a provider of technologies for cellular and protein science research, and tools used in the manufacture of biopharmaceuticals such as vaccines, cell therapies and antibodies.

A statement on GE's website says that the strong strategic fit between the two businesses will offer substantial customer benefits and create significant synergies through complementary product and service offerings.

Joe Hogan, president and CEO of GE Healthcare commented, ''Whatman is a great company with an outstanding track record of innovation, a strong reputation and brand with the research community, and highly talented employees.  Whatman's product offerings are highly complementary with our Life Sciences business; we believe that combining the skills and knowledge of the two businesses will create significant added value for our customers.  Life Sciences is a key area of growth for GE Healthcare and expanding our skill base and product offerings in this area supports our vision of helping our customers to diagnose and treat disease earlier.''

Commenting on the acquisition, Kieran Murphy, chief executive officer of Whatman said, ''Whatman will benefit significantly from the business process expertise within GE Healthcare and in addition, Whatman's product opportunities within the pharmaceutical, diagnostic and forensics markets will have a greater chance of success within the larger GE Healthcare group.  The Whatman management team very much looks forward to working with the GE Healthcare leadership to maximise the potential of this great business.''

Peter Ehrenheim, president and CEO of GE Healthcare's Life Sciences business said, ''Whatman's expertise and reputation in filtration technologies and sample preparation is a great fit for our Life Sciences business because it brings new technologies that are fundamental to helping researchers increase their understanding of the role of genes and proteins in disease.  We believe that combining the skills of the two companies will enable GE Healthcare to create strong added value for customers in biomedical and drug discovery research.''

Michael Harper, chairman of Whatman, added, ''The board of directors of Whatman believes that it has delivered a very satisfactory outcome for Whatman shareholders, employees and customers.  I would like to thank the management team for their tremendous efforts over the past months not only during the discussions with potential acquirers but also in delivering a strong operational and financial performance in the business.''

The acquisition is intended to be implemented by way of a scheme of arrangement under UK law.  The acquisition has been recommended unanimously by the directors of Whatman, who have agreed to vote their shares in favour of the acquisition.

The largest shareholder of Whatman, Hermes Focus Asset Management Ltd, with approximately 15 per cent of the outstanding shares of Whatman, has also agreed to vote in favour of the acquisition.

The acquisition is slated to be completed in the second quarter of 2008.