This morning it was announced that GE will buy Clarient.
With the way mergers and acquisitions are going in the lab industry and heathcare pretty soon everything from the original stethoscope examination to your imaging studies (both radiology and pathology) to your molecular diagnostics to the pill or immunotherapy used to treat the condition will be provided by some conglomerate of a half a dozen companies — GE, Siemens, Roche, Philips, etc…
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General Electric Co. has agreed to acquire Clarient Inc. for about $587 million as the conglomerate looks to build its disease-diagnosis capability.
Clarient provides molecular diagnostics technologies, which provides precise information about a patient's cancer to help doctors decide on the best treatment. Global demand for cancer-profiling products and services are expected to at least triple to about $47 billion over the next five years.
Clarient's revenue has been growing at compounded annual rate of 68% since 2005, reaching $91.6 million in 2009. Clarient swung to a second-quarter profit as revenue improved 21%, reversing a string of losses. Third-quarter results are due Nov. 1.
"Adding Clarient's leading technology to our portfolio will accelerate our expansion into cancer diagnostics and therapy selection tools, while strongly enhancing our current diagnostic and life sciences offerings," said GE Healthcare President and Chief Executive John Dineen in prepared comments.
The GE unit hopes to be able to grow a $1 billion business in diagnostic solutions for cancer and other diseases.
Under the agreement, GE will purchase Clarient's common and preferred stock at $5 and $20 each, respectively. Clarient's common shares closed Thursday at $3.74; they have doubled since March.
