WSJ: Pall Corp. Nears Possible Sale

(RTTNews) - Pall Corp. (PLL) is nearing a possible sale, with potential buyers Danaher Corp. (DHR) and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (TMO) vying to acquire the filtration products maker, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. Shares of Pall rose almost 24 percent in extended trades Monday.

According to the WSJ report, Pall is in the final stages of an auction that could value the company at more than $10 billion. The final bids for the company are said to be due later this week.

Port Washington, New York-based Pall had a market capitalization of $10.6 billion as of Monday.

In late February, Pall reported an increase in second-quarter net earnings to $84.4 million or $0.78 per share from $83.7 million $0.75 per share in the year-ago period. However, net sales for the quarter declined to $673.79 million from $676.97 million last year.

In December 2014, Akhil Johri returned to United Technologies Corp. (UTX) in less that two years after he previously left the company to join as CFO at Pall.

Potential buyer of Pall and diversified machinery maker Danaher said in December 2014 that it closed the $2.2 billion acquisition of Nobel Biocare Holding AG (NBHGF.PK), a Switzerland-based provider of implant-based dental restorations.

The WSJ reported that Pall would be Danaher's largest acquisition to date, after the $5.9 billion it paid in 2011 for Beckman Coulter Inc. Danaher has a market capitalization of more than $59 billion and also had $2.5 billion in cash and equivalents as of April 3.

Meanwhile, laboratory equipment maker Thermo Fisher has a market value of $52 billion. The company acquired lab-equipment maker Life Technologies Inc. for $13.6 billion last year.

PLL closed Monday's trading at $99.31, down $0.21 or 0.21 percent on a volume of 0.28 million shares. However, in after-hours, the stock gained $23.66 or 23.82 percent to $122.97.