PHILADELPHIA-- Industrial tool maker Danaher Corporation has said it will buy Sybron Dental Specialties Inc. for about $2 billion to add to its dental equipment making business.
The deal, which has been approved by Sybron's board but will be presented to shareholders in the form of a tender offer, values the company at $47 per share, a 12.6 percent premium to its recent closing price.
The high-tech dental instruments and implants Sybron manufactures will let Danaher offer a wider range of products to dentists and orthodontists. Danaher's dental businesses currently make products like X-ray machines, chairs and surgical tools.
Sybron made an acquisition of its own early this month, paying cash for an infection-prevention product line of Dental Disposables International Inc.
Banc of America recently raised its rating on Newport Beach, California-based Sybron's stock to "buy" from "neutral" because of an expected improvement in its dental implant business.
In late morning New York Stock Exchange trade, Sybron shares were up $5.22, or 12.5 percent, at $46.96 after jumping as high as $47.20, just above the offer price. Danaher gained 60 cents, or nearly 1 percent, to $65.95.
Washington-based Danaher, which also makes tools and components for the industrial, environmental and aerospace and defense sectors, said its first-quarter revenue rose 17.4 percent to $2.14 billion. Analysts polled by Reuters Estimates had expected $2.08 billion.
The company expects earnings for the quarter to come in slightly above its previously stated range of 61 cents to 64 cents per share, after accounting for stock option expense.
The analysts' average estimate is 64 cents.
