MERGER SHOULD ADD VALUE TO BD CANCER SCREENING CAPABILITIES, ANALYST SAYS

Becton Dickinson's (BD) Dec. 20 acquisition of TriPath Imaging looks like a boon for BD, an analyst says.

BD acquired 93.5 percent of outstanding TriPath shares for $9.25 per share, a deal reportedly worth around $350 million.

"The TriPath acquisition fits nicely with BD's strategy to drive incremental revenue via entry into high-growth markets," Merrill Lynch Research analyst Lee Brown said in a Dec. 19 research note.

"TriPath provides BD with an attractive core business in cervical cancer screening, in which BD can add value," Brown said. "TriPath also offers BD a pipeline of diagnostic cancer tests that represent significant market opportunities and should enhance the competitiveness of BD's flow cytometry franchise."

The acquisition should accelerate BD's sales growth from 6 to 8 percent in fiscal 2007, with 7 to 8 percent type growth projected thereafter, Brown said.