Pursuits
Billionaire Brothers Seek to Copy Danaher M&A-Fueled Ascent
- Rales’s Fortive begins trading Tuesday after spinoff July 2
- Analysts recall Danaher’s surge from a similar sales level
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Steven and Mitchell Rales boosted Danaher Corp.’s market value sevenfold since 2003 in part through savvy acquisitions. Investors will be watching to see if the billionaire brothers’ latest offering provides similar returns.
Fortive Corp., which began trading Tuesday after a spinoff from Danaher this weekend, has a similar sales level to what the older company had 13 years ago. That’s spurring comparisons between the newly created maker of sensors, controls and measurement equipment and Danaher, which has been buying companies in health care and life sciences. Shareholders received one Fortive share for every two of Danaher they own.