Danaher is selling parts of its life science portfolio -- including its FortéBio label-free biomolecular characterization business -- to Sartorius for $750 million in cash to help satisfy regulatory requirements related to its acquisition of GE's biopharmaceutical business.
Sartorius said in a statement that the acquisition would complement its strong positions in the fast-growing bioanalytics and bioprocessing segments.
The FortéBio business includes instruments and related products that are built on Danaher's biolayer interferometry technology for use in drug discovery. The business, which is based in Fremont, CA, and Shanghai, will now be absorbed into Sartorius' laboratory products and services division. It accounts for about half of the $140 million in turnover for the businesses involved in the deal, Göttingen, Germany-based Sartorius noted.
In addition, Sartorius is acquiring Danaher's chromatography hardware and resins business, which is based in sites in the U.S. and Europe, and the Ann Arbor, MI-based SoloHill microcarrier technology and particle validation standards.
The deal between Sartorius and Danaher depends on the closing of Danaher's acquisition of GE Biopharma and the acceptance by regulators of Sartorius as a buyer. Danaher announced in February that it was acquiring GE Biopharma for a net price of $20 billion in cash.
