EU to probably accept GE offer |
http://www.sina.com.cn 2003/09/01 11:39 Shanghai Daily |
General Electric Co, the world's largest seller of medical-imaging machines, will likely get European Union approval tomorrow for its offer to buy Instrumentarium Oyj for US.3 billion, people familiar with the matter said. Helsinki, Finland-based Instrumentarium, the world's largest maker of anesthesia systems, will spin off its Spacelabs patient-monitors unit. That will help it overcome EU Competition Commissioner Mario Monti's concerns the deal would boost equipment prices for hospitals, said the people, who declined to be identified. "The sale of the Spacelabs unit wouldn't impact too heavily on GE's purchase," said Patrik Ling, medical technology analyst at Handelsbanken Markets in Stockholm, Sweden. "If the commission had asked for much more, it could have killed the deal." General Electric, which was thwarted in its US billion bid for Honeywell International Inc in 2001 by the European Union's anti-trust arm, proposed spinning off the unit and giving it exclusive European rights to an anesthesia-monitoring machine for about five years, the people said. The commission had expressed concern the purchase of Instrumentarium would raise prices for anesthesia, X-ray and mammography equipment. The US Justice Department, which must also approve the transaction, hasn't commented on the acquisition proposal in the past. General Electric, which still expects to close the deal this quarter, has had "continuing and constructive dialogue with the Department of Justice," GE Medical spokesman Patrick Jarvis said. Shares of Fairfield, Connecticut-based General Electric fell 11 US cents to US.57 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading on Friday. Instrumentarium shares rose 14 euro cents (15.36 US cents) to 35.57 euros in Helsinki. The bid is valued at 36 euros a share. European antitrust regulators will recommend approval of General Electric's proposal to the full European Commission at a meeting tomorrow in Strasbourg, France, the people said. The commission faces a September 11 deadline to rule on the purchase. Amelia Torres, a spokes-woman for the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium, and General Electric spokeswoman Louise Binns wouldn't comment. |
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