CHICAGO—Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has announced the sale of the Cole-Parmer Instrument Company to GTCR, a leading private equity firm, for $480 million, per a definitive agreement. The Cole-Parmer company is based in Vernon Hills, Ill., and is a part of Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Laboratory Products and Services segment. The business manufactures and distributes specialty laboratory equipment, instruments and supplies for the pharmaceutical, biotech, healthcare, chemicals, food and other research-based or regulated markets, and offers fluid handling, test and measurement, and electrochemistry products and services. It was founded in 1955 and employs some 400 people globally. In 2013, the Cole-Parmer saw approximately $230 million in revenues. 
“The acquisition of Cole-Parmer from Thermo Fisher underscores GTCR’s extensive experience in corporate carve-outs, and highlights GTCR’s continued enthusiasm for investing in companies that serve the broader life sciences industry,” Sean Cunningham, managing director at GTCR, commented in a statement.
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Read MoreThermo Fisher Scientific expects the transaction to close in the third quarter of this year, with an immaterial impact to 2014 adjusted earnings per share. The company plans to update its annual guidance in the wake of this deal on July 23. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
“We are excited to acquire Cole-Parmer from Thermo Fisher,” Dean Mihas, managing director at GTCR, said in a press release regarding the transaction. “We believe Cole-Parmer’s strong reputation, management team and portfolio of leading brands provides a unique position within the diverse end-markets it serves. GTCR looks forward to investing in the business and building a leading company within the life sciences and lab supply industry.”
GTCR enlisted Credit Suisse, who will provide financing for the transaction, as its financial advisor, with Kirkland & Ellis LLP serving as GTCR’s legal counsel.
This is one of several deals for Thermo Fisher Scientific so far this year. The biggest was its $13.6-billion acquisition of Life Technologies, which was completed February 3. In conjunction with that deal, Thermo Fisher also sold its cell culture (sera and media) gene modulation and magnetic beads businesses to GE Healthcare for $1.065 billion, where they will become part of the GE Healthcare Life Sciences division. The trio of businesses saw combined revenues of $250 million last year, and the completion of the deal was announced on March 24. On the purchasing front, Thermo Fisher announced that it had completed its acquisition of Prionics AG, a privately held animal health diagnostics company, on March 17.
