Danaher $5.8-billion buy of Beckman Coulter cleared in EU

U.S. conglomerate Danaher Corp. won EU regulatory approval on Friday for its $5.8-billion U.S. buy of U.S. medical diagnostics company Beckman Coulter , pitting it against giants 3M and GE .

The deal is intended to boost Danaher's medical technology revenues to nearly half of group turnover and in the long term close to 40 per cent.

Danaher, which unveiled the deal in February, forecast a 5 to 10 cents a share boost to earnings this year due to the acquisition.

The European Commission, the EU competition watchdog, said it had examined the effects of the proposed acquisition in the markets for the sale of clinical in-vitro diagnostics products.

It found the deal would not significantly impede effective competition, the Commission said in a statement.