Danaher Corporation to Acquire X-Rite

Danaher Corporation – the Washington DC-based manufacturer that acquired Esko in 2011 – has agreed to acquire X-Rite, Inc. The transaction is expected to be completed during the second quarter of 2012.

X-Rite, which includes Pantone, will remain a standalone company and become part of Danaher's Product Identification group. X-Rite will continue to do business under its existing X-Rite, Pantone, and other brands, and X-Rite’s existing management team will continue to hold key senior leadership positions at the company following the close of the transaction.

“We are excited about the opportunity to acquire two premier brands in X-Rite and Pantone,” says William K. Daniel II, executive vice president of Danaher. “Color measurement is an attractive market adjacency to our existing Product Identification businesses. X-Rite's color-measurement technologies complement Esko's digital packaging design capabilities to provide customers with a full range of solutions to meet their packaging and design needs. Along with Videojet and Esko, we believe X-Rite and Pantone will further Danaher's leading position in the Product Identification industry and present an attractive value creation opportunity.”

“Danaher’s global scale, market presence, and resources will allow X-Rite to accelerate our growth, particularly for our key strategic initiatives like PantoneLive and Appearance solutions,” says Thomas J. Vacchiano Jr., X-Rite’s CEO. “As part of Danaher, X-Rite will be able to expand our access to new markets and complementary technologies.”

“Our commitment to our customers, employees, partners and local communities remains unchanged. We expect X-Rite customers and employees to benefit from our being part of a larger, stronger company focused on growth and innovation and which shares our passion for retaining, developing and recruiting the best talent available,” Vacchiano continues.

Danaher is a diversified technology company that designs, manufactures, and markets products and services to professional, medical, industrial, and commercial customers. In addition to Esko, its portfolio of brands includes Videojet, Tektronix, Alltec, Armstrong Tools, Craftsman Hand Tools, Dover, K-D Tools, Kobalt Hand Tools, Leica Microsystems, Matco Tools, Red Jacket, Sata, and many others. The company has 59,000 employees in more than 125 countries; 2011 revenues were $16.1 billion.

DANAHER
www.danaher.com

X-RITE
www.xrite.com