Danaher buys track & trace tech firm Laetus; unveils 'Fortive' name ahead of split
The takeover – financial terms of which have not been disclosed – saw Danaher buy the Germany-based in-line monitoring and track and trace technologies from Italian packaging technology company Coesia.
A Laetus spokesperson told us "We are part of the [Danaher] Production Identification Platform."
Post Pall plan
The deal is the first since Danaher bought processing systems company Pall for $13.8bn (€12bn) in August.
The Pall takeover marked Danaher’s entry into the bioprocessing technology space alongside companies like Thermo Fisher and Merck Millipore.
It also coincided with Danaher’s announcement that it would hive off its industrial technologies business and refocus as a healthcare instruments and services firm.
The planned split will see Danaher retains Pall, its life sciences, diagnostics and dental segments and its water quality and product identification platforms, which will include Laetus packaging graphics firm Esko, coating company Xrite and coding company Videojet.
Fortive plan
Laetus – which will retain its base in Alsbach-Hähnlein – claims to be one of the world’s leading providers of industrial track and trace technology to the pharmaceutical, cosmetics and medical sectors.
The firm supplies systems for package handling, code reading as well as a variety of inspections systems. It employs around 200 people.
News of the Laetus takeover was followed by Danaher’s announcement that the industrial technology unit will be renamed as Fortive when it launches as an independent company next year.
