Logo

GE Healthcare and Abbott Scuttle $8B Deal for Diagnostics Units

Jul 12, 2007
NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) — General Electric and Abbott have decided to scuttle their plan for GE to buy two of Abbott’s diagnostics divisions for around $8.13 billion, the firms said yesterday.
 
The companies, whose boards had approved the deal, said they were unable to agree on final terms.  
 
Abbott did not specify which “terms and conditions” killed the deal but maintained that holding the two businesses, which it said generated around $2.7 billion in 2006, will not change its earnings outlook for 2007.
 
GE Healthcare in January said it planned to buy Abbott’s point-of-care and in vitro diagnostics businesses as part of an effort to firm up its foothold in the diagnostics market.
 
GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt said at the time that Abbott’s share of the “growing diagnostics field is aligned with our objective to deliver a comprehensive array of diagnostic products around the world.”
 
Abbott had planned to divest the diagnostics segments in order to streamline its molecular business.

Breaking News
The Scan

Enzyme Involved in Lipid Metabolism Linked to Mutational Signatures

In Nature Genetics, a Wellcome Sanger Institute-led team found that APOBEC1 may contribute to the development of the SBS2 and SBS13 mutational signatures in the small intestine.

Family Genetic Risk Score Linked to Diagnostic Trajectory in Psychiatric Disorders

Researchers in JAMA Psychiatry find ties between high or low family genetic risk scores and diagnostic stability or change in four major psychiatric disorders over time.

Study Questions Existence of Fetal Microbiome

A study appearing in Nature this week suggests that the reported fetal microbiome might be the result of sample contamination.

Fruit Fly Study Explores Gut Microbiome Effects on Circadian Rhythm

With gut microbiome and gene expression experiments, researchers in PNAS see signs that the microbiome contributes to circadian rhythm synchronicity and stability in fruit flies.