Washington-based Danaher Corporation acquired the biopharmaceutical business of the US energy giant General Electric for 21.4 billion USD. In addition to the amount in question, Danaher will also assume the responsibility of GE to pay the pensions of employees who have retired.

The unit of the medical and health research company will join Danaher Corporation as a separate business. The biopharmaceutical department is expected to generate around 3.2 billion USD in profits this year.

Danaher expects the acquisition to finish by the fourth quarter of 2019.

“We are focusing on completing the sale of the biopharmaceutical unit, which accounts for 15% of the entire health sector. Thus, we will focus on managing our core business”, said the CEO of General Electric, Lawrence Culp Jr.

The sale of this unit is a positive event, according to the analysts.

Culp, who previously manages Danaher for more than a decade, joined GE last February.

In the run of Culp, Danaher managed to make its healthcare unit a major asset to the company and raise its value, which currently stands at 6.5 billion USD.