- 05 March 2008 -

GE acquires global supplier in filtration

GE Healthcare, a unit of General Electric Company, announced today that they have reached agreement on the terms of a recommended acquisition of Whatman plc, global supplier of filtration products and technologies. Under the terms of the transaction, each Whatman shareholder will receive 270 pence in cash for each Whatman share, valuing Whatman at approximately £363 million (approximately US$713 million.) The transaction is subject to approval by Whatman's shareholders as well as customary regulatory approvals.

The strong strategic fit between the two businesses will offer substantial customer benefits and create significant synergies through complementary product and service offerings. Joe Hogan, president and CEO GE Healthcare, commented, "[.] Whatman's product offerings are highly complementary with our Life Sciences business; we believe that combining the skills and knowledge of the two businesses will create significant added value for our customers. Life Sciences is a key area of growth for GE Healthcare and expanding our skill base and product offerings in this area supports our vision of helping our customers to diagnose and treat disease earlier."

Commenting on the acquisition, Kieran Murphy, CEO of Whatman, said, "Whatman will benefit significantly from the business process expertise within GE Healthcare and in addition, Whatman's product opportunities within the pharmaceutical, diagnostic and forensics markets will have a greater chance of success within the larger GE Healthcare group. [.]."

Peter Ehrenheim, President and CEO of GE Healthcare's Life Sciences business, said, "Whatman's expertise and reputation in filtration technologies and sample preparation is a great fit for our Life Sciences business because it brings new technologies that are fundamental to helping researchers increase their understanding of the role of genes and proteins in disease. We believe that combining the skills of the two companies will enable GE Healthcare to create strong added value for customers in biomedical and drug discovery research."

It is intended that the transaction will be implemented by way of a scheme of arrangement under UK law. The transaction has been recommended unanimously by the directors of Whatman, who have agreed to vote their shares in favour of the transaction. The largest shareholder of Whatman, Hermes Focus Asset Management Ltd, with approximately 15% of the outstanding shares of Whatman, has also agreed to vote in favour of the transaction. It is expected that the transaction will be completed in the second quarter of 2008.

www.whatman.com