Danaher Completes Fortive Spin-Off, Trading To Begin Today

Danaher Corp. (NYSE:DHR) wrapped up the spin-off of Fortive Corporation, completing the separation of its Test & Measurement segment, Industrial Technologies segment (excluding its Product Identification platform) and Retail/Commercial Petroleum platform from its other operations.

Danaher will retain its life sciences, dental, diagnostics, water quality and product identification segments.

Fortive will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange and will begin trading today under the ticker “FTV”. To be headquartered in Everett, WA, Fortive will classify its operations under two segments, Professional Instrumentation and Industrial Technologies.

In the split, Danaher shareholders received one share of the spun-off unit Fortive for every two shares of Danaher. About 345 million shares of Fortive common stock were distributed in the separation.

Some of Danaher’s leading brands, such as Fluke, Qualitrol, Tektronix, Gilbarco Veeder-Root, Kollmorgen and Matco Tools will be included in Fortive. Notably, Fortive has established a strong financial, legal and organizational structure, which indicates bright prospects ahead.

The split will enable both the companies to be more focused and nimble in their respective growth strategies, and will help them deliver on strategic priorities by pursuing high impact prospects.

Danaher has consistently followed an aggressive acquisition strategy, and continues to explore expansion opportunities in targeted regions. The year 2015 saw the company close acquisition of 14 businesses worth approximately $14.5 billion.

During the first quarter of 2016, Danaher closed six bolt-on acquisitions, including Hach's takeover of Lufft Mess, for over $100 million.

These acquired units complement Danaher’s existing units, while adding strong growth and strengthening the market presence of the company.

During the third quarter of 2015, Danaher’s acquisition of Pall Corp. led its decision to split into two independent, publicly traded companies. We believe that the companies will unlock significant growth and operational synergies from this strategic separation, and will likely provide high value for customers, going forward.

However, this Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) company has been seeing weakness in its Instruments platform of late, which has witnessed a significant decline in revenues across all major geographies including the U.S., Western Europe and Latin America. Also, Danaher’s operations remain vulnerable to foreign currency headwinds, as a significant portion of its revenues is derived from regions outside the U.S.

Some better-ranked stocks from the same space include Carlisle Companies Incorporated (NYSE:CSL) , Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE:HON) and Leucadia National Corporation (NYSE:LUK) , each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).