We 100% disagree with Barron’s that General Electric’s deal to sell its BioPharma business to Danaher (tkr: DHR), for $21.4 billion (original deal announced February 2019), should close soon. This is precisely the type of large deal struck at a peak market that will either get delayed indefinitely or negotiated down. Danaher has the upper hand in negotiations as they do not necessarily need to complete this deal. General Electric (tkr: GE) may be facing a cash crunch and is a motivated Seller. Stay tuned.
Here is GE’s language from its February 24th 2020 10-K filing: “In February 2019, we announced an agreement to sell our BioPharma business within our Healthcare segment to Danaher Corporation for total consideration of approximately $21.4 billion subject to certain adjustments. Correspondingly, we classified BioPharma as a business held for sale. We expect to complete the sale in the first quarter of 2020, subject to regulatory approval, providing us flexibility and optionality with respect to our remaining Healthcare businesses. See Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements for further information.”