Thursday, measurement products maker Agilent Technologies, Inc. (A) said that the European Commission has granted conditional antitrust clearance for its proposed acquisition of Varian, Inc. (VARI). As per the commission's decision, both the companies have committed to sell four of its businesses, that contributed aggregate fiscal 2009 revenues under $100 million. The acquisition is expected to close in early calendar 2010.
Agilent noted that the business to be sold are Varian's laboratory gas chromatography business, Triple quadrupole gas chromatography-mass spectrometry business, Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry business and Agilent's micro gas chromatography business.
The company's acquisition of Varian remains subject to other regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions and is awaiting clearance by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.
Bill Sullivan, president and chief executive officer of Agilent said, "The European Commission's decision is a key milestone toward completing the transaction that will bring our two firms together. We are committed to ensuring that each of these four businesses is successfully divested as a viable, competitive business and that all customers remain fully supported during and beyond the divestiture process."
Palo Alto, California-based Agilent announced the definitive agreement to acquire Varian for $52.00 per share or $1.5 billion in cash on July 27, 2009.
The company said that the merger is expected to generate $75 million in annual cost synergies and achieve Agilent's 20% return on invested capital or ROIC target within four to five years. The company also expects the transaction to be accretive to its earnings on a non-GAAP basis in the first full year following completion.
A is currently trading at $30.51, down $0.12 or 0.39% on a volume of 2.67 million shares on the NYSE and VARI is trading at $51.73, up $0.42 or 0.82% on a volume of 1.23 million shares on the Nasdaq.
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