CareFusion To Buy GE Healthcare's Vital Signs Division For $500 Mln

(RTTNews) - CareFusion Corp. (CFN), a medical technology company, Monday said it signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Vital Signs division of GE Healthcare for $500 million. The transaction will enable CareFusion to serve customers globally, and boost the change of its Specialty Disposables business from a distributor to a vertically integrated manufacturer. CareFusion said it expects synergies to reach $10 million to $15 million per year on a pretax basis by fiscal 2017. Excluding amortization of acquired intangible assets, non-cash inventory valuation step-up charges, and nonrecurring restructuring, integration and tax charges, the acquisition is expected to be neutral to modestly add to CareFusion's adjusted earnings per share in fiscal 2014 and $0.05 to $0.08 accretive in fiscal 2015.

The company expects to conclude the deal by December 31 for the Vital Signs business in the United States, China and certain other countries, while the remaining would get completed during the third-quarter ending March 31, 2014.

Vital Signs, with a annual revenue of about $250 million, is a manufacturer of single-patient-use consumables for respiratory care and anesthesiology, and also a marketer of temperature management products and patient monitoring consumables.