D.C.-based manufacturing firm Danaher plans to purchase electronics testing company Tektronix for $2.8 billion.
“We believe Tektronix is an outstanding company with a great brand and a broad global reach,” Danaher CEO Lawrence Culp said during a teleconference Monday.
The acquisition is the company’s largest, though it bought 11 other firms in 2006.
Danaher was drawn to the company because it holds the top position in more than 80 percent of its markets, Culp said. Tektronix mostly produces electronics testing instruments, but does some work in communications, such as network management services.
Tektronix will be combined with the Fluke division of Danaher, which also does electronics testing. The acquisition will more than double Fluke’s market reach, Culp said, and enable it to expand into key parts of the Asia Pacific; Tektronix has a particularly strong footing in Japan, Culp said.
“Tektronix brings a higher-end instrument technology channel,” said Richard C. Eastman, an analyst with Robert W. Baird & Co. in Milwaukee. “The profile of Tektronix fits Danaher quite well.”
Danaher is one of the largest companies in the D.C. region in terms of annual revenue, which totaled $9.8 billion last year. The company is scheduled to release its quarterly financial results later this week. Culp said earnings per share are expected to be at or above the range Danaher predicted, which was between $0.92 and $0.97 per share, though he offered no additional information.
“This will be the catalyst to accelerate Tektronix’s position from a very good company to an even better company,” Tektronix CEO Richard Wills said during the call.
The companies expect the transaction to close in the fourth quarter of this year, pending regulatory approval.
Bloomberg News contributed to this report.
