Apogent Technologies Inc. Announces Acquisition of TFO, Inc. and Updated Business Outlook.

Business Editors and Health/Medical Writers

PORTSMOUTH, N.H.--(BW HealthWire)--June 19, 2002

Apogent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: AOT), a leading manufacturer of laboratory and life science products, announced today the acquisition of TFO, Incorporated of Logan, Utah. In addition, the company announced its updated business outlook for its fiscal year ending September 30, 2002.

Nalge Nunc International Corporation (NNI), an Apogent subsidiary, acquired TFO, Inc., a leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of flexible hydration products and accessories. These products will expand the offering of NNI's highly successful Nalgene Outdoor product line, which is geared towards the outdoor market, and sporting enthusiasts. Nalgene Outdoor products represent the fastest growing product segment at NNI, and the addition of the TFO line will allow Nalgene Outdoor to further its growth and market penetration. Revenues of TFO products for the first twelve months with NNI are expected to surpass $2.0 million.

Regarding its business outlook for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2002, Frank Jellinek, Jr., Apogent's President and Chief Executive Officer said: "Revenues for the year are expected to be approximately 10% higher than last year, in-line with the low end of our previously announced guidance of 10% to 15%. Fully diluted earnings per share are expected to be approximately $1.30, in-line with the low end of our previously announced guidance of $1.30 to $1.40 for the year. The current consensus range for Apogent's earnings per share this year, as reported by First Call, is $1.31 to $1.34."

Mr. Jellinek continued: "Apogent's core business of manufacturing and selling consumable and reusable products for clinical and research applications continues to meet, and in some cases, exceed our expectations this year. These consumable and reusable products generate approximately 80% of our revenue and the outlook remains solid. The remaining 20% of Apogent's revenues is comprised of general laboratory equipment (11%), instruments for life science applications (6%), and instruments for anatomical pathology applications (3%). As we have discussed many times this year, the pace of our equipment and instrument businesses has been difficult to discern. For the first six months, as we reported, general laboratory equipment revenue was down $5.5 million or 8.5% compared to last year. We do not expect this business to improve appreciably for the remainder of this year. Incoming orders for life science instrumentation from pharmaceutical and biotech customers also continue to be soft. We now expect sales of life science instrumentation to be flat to slightly down compared to last year versus our initial outlook of high single-digit to low double-digit growth for the year. Combined, Apogent's general laboratory equipment and life science instrumentation businesses have led us to conclude that our sales and earnings will be on the low end of our initial guidance. We are currently working on our plan for next year and will discuss our initial thoughts during the third quarter conference call."

COMPANY CONFERENCE CALL

On Tuesday, July 30, 2002 at 11 a.m. EDT, Apogent will host a conference call to discuss its third quarter and year-to-date financial results for the period ending June 30, 2002. The dial-in numbers for the teleconference are:

Domestic Callers [phone]

International Callers [phone]

The conference call will be simultaneously audio webcast on Apogent's website in the Investor Relations section at www.apogent.com. An archive of the webcast will be available on Apogent's website until August 30, 2002.

A telephone replay of the call will also be available until 12:00 p.m. EDT on August 1, 2002. The telephone replay numbers are [phone] (Domestic Callers) or [phone] (International Callers), passcode 6067399.

BUSINESS DESCRIPTION

Apogent Technologies Inc. is a diversified worldwide leader in the design, manufacture, and sale of value-added laboratory and life science products essential for healthcare diagnostics and scientific research. Apogent's companies are divided into three business segments: Clinical Diagnostics, Labware and Life Sciences, and Laboratory Equipment.

NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Statements made in this press release regarding future matters are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements, including those dealing with competitors, customers, acquisitions, sales, profit margins, product development, financial performance, and growth strategies are based on current expectations. Our actual results may differ materially from those presently anticipated. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, among others: financial risks associated with our holding company structure; currency and other risks associated with our international operations; risks from rapid technological change and new product introductions; the cyclical nature of some of the industries and markets into which we sell our products; changes in customers purchasing patterns; competitive factors; transitional challenges associated with acquisitions; the possibility of future restructuring or impairment charges against our reported earnings; our dependence upon key distributors and original equipment manufacturers; possible disruption of our manufacturing operations from labor unrest, shortages of critical materials or other causes; regulatory and litigation risks; and the other "Cautionary Factors" contained in Item 7 of the Company's most recent Form 10-K and our subsequent reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.