Is GE About To Stir Up The Medical Arena?

With the worst of the credit crunch over and plenty of cheap candidates, General Electric (NYSE:GE) may be about to become more active with acquisitions. With some oblique comments from a senior executive, it would seem that this American conglomerate is once again about to leverage its considerable capital resources. Investors may want to consider the sorts of companies that GE may be looking at as potential targets.

Sticking to the Knitting
Although GE is a frequently-mentioned name in the guessing game of healthcare acquisitions, the company is actually rather focused and consistent with its healthcare business. GE is a significant presence in the imaging, diagnostics, life sciences and healthcare IT spaces. By and large, the company steers away from interventional products, so the likelihood that GE would buy a company like Stryker (NYSE:SYK) is quite low.

Cancer Therapy
Although GE is not active in interventional medicine, Varian (NYSE:VAR) might be a logical way for the company to make that transition. An argument could be made that Varian's radiation therapy systems would be a natural extension of GE's diagnostic imaging products. Along similar lines, TomoTherapy (Nasdaq:TOMO) or Accuray (Nasdaq:ARAY) could get some consideration, though TOMO may be too small and Accuray too novel.


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