New York, Feb 17, 2026, 12:10 PM (EST) — Regular session
- Masimo jumped, with shares soaring after Danaher said it will acquire the patient-monitoring company for $180 a share, all cash.
- Danaher shares slipped after the company made an unusual move into medtech.
- Pending approvals, the deal should wrap up in the back half of 2026.
Masimo soared 34.3% to $174.79 on Tuesday after Danaher said it would acquire the patient-monitoring firm for $180 a share, all cash. Shares of Danaher dropped 2.8% to $206.60, as investors weighed the move and the company’s new direction.
This is significant: Danaher’s reputation rests on lab equipment and drug-development tools, not hospital monitors. Investors have wanted proof the company can pivot toward more stable demand, with life sciences softening. This deal delivers that signal, loud and clear—though probably not quite in the form most anticipated.
Danaher is offering a 38.3% premium over Masimo’s last closing price, with both companies aiming to wrap up the deal in the back half of 2026. J.P. Morgan analysts called the medtech move “surprising.” Bernstein’s Christian Moore, though, figures it might work out well down the line. The deal puts Danaher into the pulse oximetry space—blood-oxygen monitoring—where Medtronic and Masimo have the lead. (Reuters)
Danaher CEO Rainer M. Blair called Masimo “an exceptional strategic fit,” noting the company had tracked it “for many years.” He singled out Masimo’s pulse-oximetry line and its broader monitoring range. The deal puts Masimo’s value at roughly 18 times projected 2027 EBITDA, Danaher said—a metric that excludes interest, taxes, and some non-cash items. The company expects Masimo to boost adjusted earnings per share by $0.15 to $0.20 in the first full year after the close—what’s labeled “accretive” in M&A lingo—with that figure climbing to about $0.70 by year five, driven by targeted cost and revenue synergies. (Danaher Corporation Investors)
Masimo CEO Katie Szyman said the company is eager to move ahead with Danaher, describing the deal as a way to keep building on its strength in patient monitoring as operations transition to Danaher’s diagnostics arm. (Stock Titan)
Masimo, coming off turbulent months marked by board infighting and a pullback from the consumer audio push after the expensive Sound United deal, now adds this agreement to a period already shaped by its headline-grabbing legal dispute with Apple over smartwatch monitoring tech. (Financial Times)
Masimo intends to release its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 numbers on Feb. 26, though the company won’t hold an earnings call due to the pending deal. (Business Wire)
The headline’s the simple bit. This deal isn’t done: Masimo shareholders still have to sign off, regulators need to weigh in, and Danaher shares slid this day. Investors haven’t bought into the shift—let alone the price tag—long before anyone starts worrying about integration.
Masimo shares didn’t touch the $180 offer, holding at a discount that’s common when there’s uncertainty about the deal’s completion and investors are looking at a timeline that runs into the latter half of the year, with approvals still pending.
Traders are watching for Masimo’s Feb. 26 earnings and looking for new info on when shareholder and regulatory moves might land, as both are key to keeping the $180-per-share cash offer alive.
