Danaher closes in on nearly $10bn deal for medical device maker Masimo – Financial Times
Danaher has struck an almost $10bn deal to buy patient monitoring company Masimo, two years after an activist investor overhauled the device maker’s board.
The all-cash deal announced on Tuesday values Masimo at $180 a share — a 40 per cent premium to the company’s Friday closing price of just over $130 a share.
Masimo shares soared 34 per cent shortly after Wall Street’s opening bell on Tuesday to almost $175. The FT reported late on Monday that a deal between the two companies was near. Shares in Danaher fell about 3 per cent.
By acquiring Masimo, US life sciences manufacturer Danaher will become a market leader in the production of pulse oximeters — non-invasive devices that monitor blood oxygen levels. Rivals such as Philips make similar products.
Danaher chief executive Rainer Blair said the acquisition “will greatly strengthen our diagnostics franchise”, under which Masimo will be housed as a standalone company. “We see opportunities to expand Masimo’s reach and continue improving outcomes for patients, particularly those in acute care settings.”
Masimo, which also makes other non-invasive patient monitoring systems, has been in a long-running intellectual property dispute with Apple over the heart-rate monitoring technology used in the Apple Watch. Last November, the company was awarded $634mn in damages by a US federal court.
Danaher makes a wide range of products including laboratory equipment used for drug discovery and diagnostics for a variety of diseases. It has been an aggressive M&A dealmaker in recent decades.
Masimo was hit by back-to-back proxy contests launched by activist hedge fund Politan Management, founded by Elliott Management alumnus Quentin Koffey, in 2023 and 2024. The proxy fights led to the departure of Masimo chief executive Joe Kiani, who founded the group, and granted Politan four board seats.
Politan expressed particular grievances about Masimo’s $1bn acquisition of consumer audio company Sound United, arguing it was a radical departure from the device maker’s core competency.
Last year Masimo sold the speaker manufacturer for $350mn, unwinding the transaction. Shares are up 40 per cent since Politan won control of the board in September 2024.
Kiani still owns about 5 per cent of the company’s shares, according to S&P Capital IQ. Politan has a near-9 per cent stake in Masimo.
The Masimo deal is Danaher’s biggest acquisition in more than half a decade since its $21.4bn takeover of Cytiva, the biologics manufacturing arm previously owned by GE Life Sciences. The Masimo acquisition is expected to close in the second half of this year.
Danaher stock surged during the pandemic but has struggled since. It is down 28 per cent from its September 2021 high, leaving it worth $150bn at Friday’s close.
Its last sizeable acquisition was the $5.7bn takeover of UK life sciences group Abcam in 2024. Danaher has spun out several publicly listed multibillion-dollar affiliates over the years such as Veralto, Envista and Fortive.
Danaher was advised by Citigroup and Kirkland & Ellis on the deal, while Masimo received advice from Centerview Partners and Morgan Stanley, as well as law firms Sullivan & Cromwell and White & Case.
