By Jessica Toonkel
Jan 6 (Reuters) - Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc saidit would sell three businesses to General Electric Co's healthcare unit for $1.06 billion, a deal that will enableThermo Fisher to secure European antitrust approval for itsacquisition of Life Technologies Corp.
In November, the European Union Thermo Fisher's $13.6billion acquisition of Life Technologies, a deal that will makeit one of the top two genetic testing companies.
ISI Group analyst Ross Muken said the deal "is one of thelast pieces of the puzzle for the Life transaction to movetoward ultimate completion."
He called the price paid for the Thermo assets "veryattractive" and raised his price target on Thermo Fisher sharesto $121.50 from $111.
Thermo Fisher said its cell culture, gene modulation andmagnetic beads businesses, expected to have combined revenue ofabout $250 million in 2013, will become part of GE Healthcare'slife sciences business.
GE was one of a handful of companies that bid for the ThermoFisher businesses being divested, according to a person familiarwith the situation who wished to remain anonymous because he isnot permitted to speak to the media. When Thermo Fisher'sacquisition of Life Technologies was announced last spring, anumber of healthcare companies and private equity firmsexpressed interest, but only a handful were invited to bid, theperson said.
The cell culture business bought by GE produces liquids usedto develop biotech medicines and vaccines.
GE said the magnetic beads products, used in microbiologyinstruments, will be added to its existing technologies inprotein analysis and medical testing.
Thermo Fisher's gene modulation technologies will also aid GEin drug research, Kieran Murphy, president and chief executiveof GE Healthcare Life Science's division, told Reuters.
GE sees the acquisition as a complementary addition to itsbusiness as it believes that bioprocessing and particularly celltherapy will continue to grow at a fast pace in years to come,Murphy said.
"These are going to be high single digit, low double digitgrowth areas, so we have been extremely good about playing thatspace," Murphy said.
GE Healthcare is not looking to make any more acquisitionsimminently, Murphy said. "We will look at things, but we are notlooking to buy growth at this point, he said. "We don't needto."
Thermo Fisher said it does not expect any more divestitureswould be necessary to receive U.S. approval for the deal, whichis expected to close early this year. ISI Group's Muken said hesees the closing of the Life acquisition as soon as this monthas still possible.
Citigroup served as the financial adviser and HoganLovells served as the legal adviser to GE Healthcare, whileBarclays and Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr LLPserved as the advisers to Thermo Fisher.
Thermo Fisher shares were down 37 cents to $109.68, whileGE shares were off 17 cents at $27.31 in afternoon trading onthe New York Stock Exchange.