Danaher Approached GE About Deal for GE’s Life-Sciences Unit

GE, which is restructuring and attracting interest in several units, didn’t engage with the would-be buyer

Dana Mattioli,

Dana Cimilluca and

Thomas Gryta

Updated April 25, 2018 4:41 p.m. ET

Danaher Corp. recently expressed interest in a deal for General Electric Co.’s life-sciences business, but GE didn’t engage and isn’t pursuing a deal, according to people familiar with the matter.

The structure and value of the proposed transaction couldn’t be determined, and the people said there are no active discussions. GE’s life-sciences business, which had about $4.6 billion in revenue last year, sells lab supplies such as blood-collection kits as well as equipment for biotechnology drug production and research.

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