Agilent Technologies Completes Acquisition of Varian, Inc.

05-18-2010: Agilent Technologies Inc. announced that its acquisition of scientific-equipment maker Varian, Inc. is now final, positioning Agilent as a leading provider of analytical instrumentation to the applied and life sciences markets. Agilent paid approximately $1.5 billion in cash for Varian in a deal that brings together two Silicon Valley pioneers.

Bill Sullivan, Agilent president and CEO, said, “The Varian acquisition - the largest in our company’s history - furthers our evolution toward becoming a global leader in bio-analytical measurement. We’re gaining tremendous talent and technology. And for our customers, this will mean a broader span of expertise, applications and products from one trusted company.”

The majority of Varian’s product lines will report into Agilent’s Chemical Analysis Group (CAG), while some key businesses will be housed within Agilent’s Life Sciences Group (LSG).

“This strengthens our leading position in the chemical analysis market,” said Mike McMullen, Agilent senior vice president and president of CAG. “The acquisition is a key strategic move for us in the chemical analysis arena, and will serve to fuel our growth trajectory and provide more value to our customers. We will also add a new vacuum technologies business to Agilent, which will continue to operate as a standalone business unit within Agilent.”

McMullen added, “Varian’s products and applications expertise complement our offerings by providing a more complete spectroscopy, consumables and services portfolio to our customers.”

A significant new business Agilent gains through the acquisition is Research Products (including NMR, or nuclear magnetic resonance, MRI and X-ray), which will reside in LSG.

“These technology platforms will open new doors for Agilent and its customers,” said Nick Roelofs, Agilent senior vice president and president of LSG. “This technology will play a key role in Agilent’s growth through applications such as pharmaceutical and therapeutics.

“In addition, Agilent can build on its expertise as the worldwide leader in radio frequency [RF] and electromagnetic transmit-and-receive technology by being the first to bring that expertise to the field of magnetic resonance,” he said.

Agilent and Varian announced they had signed a definitive agreement for the acquisition on July 27, 2009.