UPDATE 4-Danaher expands in life sciences, to cut more jobs

"Mass spectrometry is among the most attractive areas in the research technology space, given that spectrometry has become the gold standard in detection analysis," Deutsche Bank analyst Nigel Coe said in a research note. He said AB SCIEX is No. 1 globally in this market, ahead of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc (TMO.N), Waters Corp (WAT.N) and Brooks Automation Inc (BRKS.O). PerkinElmer Inc (PKI.N) is also a smaller player.

The deal is a "slight negative" for Waters, Brooks and PerkinElmer, analyst Isaac Ro of Leerink Swan said in a research note. Waters shares were down 1.6 percent, Thermo Fisher lost 2.3 percent, and PerkinElmer fell 1.8 percent. Brooks was up 1.3 percent.

FURTHER JOB CUTS

Separately, Washington-based Danaher raised its estimates for job cuts and restructuring costs this year.

It said it now expects restructuring costs of $225 million to $250 million for 2009, up from its prior estimate of $150 million to $170 million. It expects to save about $220 million annually through the restructuring, which also includes closing 30 facilities.

It said it will eliminate 3,300 jobs in 2009, up from a previous forecast of 2,300. It said it was making the added cuts even though it was optimistic about signs of stabilization during the first two months of the third quarter.

"We're pleased with what we've seen the last two months," Culp said. "But we're not going to begin to celebrate that we have a hard and fast recovery."

Danaher shares rose 97 cents to $61.38 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange. MDS shares jumped C$1.41 to C$7.83 in Toronto, while Life Technologies rose 25 cents to $44.74 on the Nasdaq.

MDS said it would also seek a buyer for its pharma division, leaving the life-sciences company to narrow its scope to selling medical isotopes used in diagnosing cancer. [ID:nN02528673]

MDS forecast third-quarter revenue of $190 million to $195 million and adjusted EBITDA of $5 million to $10 million from continuing operations, hurt by slumping demand for its products and a prolonged shutdown of a key nuclear reactor that makes medical isotopes. (Reporting by Nick Zieminski in New York, Scott Anderson in Toronto and A.Ananthalakshmi in Bangalore; editing by John Wallace)