Agilent to purchase Varian for $1.5 billion

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) signed an agreement to purchase a scientific instrumentation company in a deal worth $1.5 billion.

Per the agreement, Agilent will pay $52 cash for each share of Varian Inc. (NasdaqGS: VARI) common stock — a 35 percent premium to the closing price on July 24. The boards of directors at both companies unanimously approved the all-cash deal.

The Varian acquisition will add to Agilent’s life sciences, environmental and energy and materials business.

“This acquisition is a major step in Agilent’s transformation into a leading bio-analytical measurement company,´ said Bill Sullivan, Agilent’s president and CEO,…