GE to Acquire Abbott Labs' In Vitro, Point-Of-Care Diagnostics Businesses

GE Healthcare (Chalfont St. Giles, UK) and Abbott Laboratories (Abbott Park, IL, USA), a global leader in medical diagnostic instruments and tests, have entered into a definitive agreement for GE to acquire Abbott's primary in vitro diagnostics businesses and Abbott point-of-care (POC) diagnostics business (formerly known as i-Stat) for US$8.13 billion in cash.

Abbott's molecular diagnostics and diabetes care businesses are not part of the transaction and will remain part of Abbott. The addition of two of Abbott's core laboratory diagnostics businesses will broaden GE Healthcare's range of diagnostic products. Abbott's in vitro diagnostic (in vitro diagnostics test blood or urine samples to diagnose disease or other conditions) complement GE's existing positions in in vivo diagnostic imaging systems (in vivo imaging uses x-ray, magnetic resonance, ultrasound, or other imaging procedures to diagnose disease), as well as its molecular imaging, information technology, and patient monitoring capabilities across the complete healthcare continuum.

The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary conditions, has been approved by the boards of directors of Abbott and GE and is targeted to close in the first half of 2007.

The acquisition reflects GE Healthcare's strategy to combine early diagnosis with information technology to enable a new "early health” model of care focused on earlier diagnosis, pre-symptomatic disease detection and disease prevention.

Abbott's in vitro diagnostics business is an international leader with a strong tradition of developing first-of-a-kind products that have helped create the modern diagnostics industry. Abbott is a world leader in immunoassays and blood screening. Abbott's broad range of medical tests and diagnostic instrument systems are used worldwide by hospitals, laboratories, blood banks, and physician offices to diagnose and monitor diseases such as HIV, hepatitis, cancer, heart failure, and metabolic disorders, as well as assess other important indicators of general health.

Abbott Point-of-Care manufactures diagnostic products for blood analysis to provide health care professionals critical diagnostics information accurately and immediately at the point of patient care. In addition to its excellent product range in the blood gas and chemistries segment, Abbott also provides point-of-care cardiac assays to the emergency room.

Abbott's in vitro diagnostics business, including point-of-care, is expected to generate net sales of approximately $2.7 billion in 2006. For Abbott, the transaction is expected to be neutral to earnings-per-share in 2007 before specified items and accretive thereafter. GE said the transaction will be accretive to earnings.



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