GE Announced a definitive agreement to sell the biopharmaceutical business to Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) (" Danaher ") for an aggregate price of $21.4 billion, including a $21 billion cash payment from Danaher and the assumption of a portion of its pension liabilities. GE hopes to use the proceeds from the deal to reduce leverage and strengthen its balance sheet. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2019 and is subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions.

GE Larry Culp, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said: "The transaction concluded today is a critical milestone. This reflects that we are executing our strategy with deliberate, targeted actions to reduce leverage and strengthen our balance sheet. The transaction allows GE to retain the flexibility of a leading global healthcare company and its future business growth and strategic choices. We are also pleased that our colleagues from GE's biopharmaceutical business will join Danaher's strong and well-established team." A more focused portfolio is the right business structure for GE and gives us multiple options to continue to grow our shareholders' equity."

GE Kieran Murphy, Medical President and CEO, said, "The biopharmaceutical business has been a strong contributor to our success, and I strongly believe this agreement will provide our valued employees with an excellent opportunity to thrive at Danaher." GE Healthcare has the scale and reach of a global business, and we will continue to focus our investments on delivering better business outcomes to meet today's demand for precision medicine."

The biopharmaceutical business is part of GE Healthcare's Life Sciences division. With global revenue of approximately $3 billion in 2018, the business is a leading global supplier of bioinstruments, consumables and software that supports biopharmaceutical companies' R&D, process development and manufacturing processes. The business includes process chromatography hardware and fillers, cell culture media, disposable bioprocess technology, development instruments and consumables, and customer service.

The other part of the current Life Sciences business, diagnostics, will remain in GE Healthcare's portfolio. The business provides contrast agents and molecular imaging consumables to radiology customers worldwide and is highly complementary to GE Healthcare's medical imaging business. GE's diagnostic drugs are used in approximately 90 million patient diagnostic and treatment procedures each year.

GE Healthcare has more than 4 million installations worldwide, covering medical imaging, mobile diagnostics and monitoring equipment. In 2018, excluding the biopharmaceutical segment, the business generated about $17 billion in revenue and had an operating margin of about 15 percent. GE Healthcare is an industry leader in medical imaging, patient monitoring and diagnostics, as well as providing related services, accessories, consumables, education, training and consulting.

The transaction is not subject to financing conditions or shareholder votes.

In addition, GE announced the successful completion of the merger of GE Transportation and Westinghouse Braking. GE and GE shareholders will receive equity in the combined Westinghouse, and GE will receive $2.9 billion in cash upon completion of the transaction. It will also help further strengthen GE's balance sheet, provide more returns to shareholders, and help Westinghouse become a stronger, more diversified rail innovator. GE is excited about the opportunities ahead for GE Transportation employees and Westinghouse Brake.