Danaher Corporation ($DHR) is further expanding its life sciences holdings, agreeing to buy diagnostics company Iris International ($IRIS) for $338 million.
Iris, which makes urinalysis tests and sample-processing devices, will be folded into Danaher's Beckman Coulter diagnostics business. The diverse conglomerate bought diagnostics-maker Beckman last year for $6.8 billion.
Iris notched revenue of $118.3 million in 2011, Reuters reports, and the company projects a 9% increase for 2012. The company's board unanimously accepted the offer, and CEO César García said the deal is in the best interest of Iris' shareholders. "Further, [Iris] will benefit from being a part of a larger organization with significant resources to enable the acceleration of its diversified product pipeline strategy," García said in a statement.
Iris has a worldwide reach with its urinalysis technology, having shipped more than 3,800 automated urine microscopy systems to more than 50 countries, the company said. The California company has expanded into personalized medicine, too, marketing its NADiA ultra-sensitive nucleic acid detection immunoassay platform, boasting applications in oncology and infectious disease.
Danaher expects the deal to close in the fourth quarter of this year.
- read Danaher's statement
- check out Iris' release
- get more from Reuters