GE Medical Systems To Acquire Coincidence Technologies S.A.

Business Editors

BUC, France and WAUKESHA, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 27, 2001

GE Medical Systems, a unit of the General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) and the worldwide leader in diagnostic imaging, announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Coincidence Technologies S.A. This company is a leader in the design, development and manufacturing of state-of-the-art synthesis and handling units for positron emission tomography (PET) radiopharmaceuticals.

The terms of the agreement have not been disclosed and are subject to conditions.

Coincidence Technologies S.A., a Belgium-based company, has experienced a strong growth trend during the past two years as a direct result of the performance of its Fluoro-Deoxy-Glucose (FDG) Synthesizer product. A synthesizer unit is used in conjunction with a cyclotron, providing the final chemical process step to produce FDG. This final step ultimately determines the quantity and quality of FDG.

"Since its establishment, Coincidence has proven that their products are the gold standard for FDG synthesis," said Thomas Hook, Global PET General Manager for GE Medical Systems. "A Coincidence Synthesizer combined with a GE cyclotron unit offers our customers the highest production capability, the shortest preparation time and the simplest operation."

The Coincidence Synthesizer unit has demonstrated above average yields of FDG, in excess of 60%, at a high number of cyclotron installation sites worldwide. The higher yields have allowed cyclotron users to produce more FDG per production run.

"Looking back over the past few years, GE has demonstrated its commitment in the PET and cyclotron markets in terms of significant investment in technology and distribution capabilities," said Jean-Luc Morelle, Managing Director of Coincidence. "We are confident that GE Medical Systems is the best partner in the healthcare industry. The combination of GE cyclotrons and Coincidence FDG Synthesizers will allow us to provide our customers with a truly complete and integrated solution to meet their needs."

"Coincidence's technology is a great addition to our range of PET and PET/CT offerings, and positions GE Medical Systems as the key leader in Molecular Imaging," said Beth Klein, Vice President and Global General Manager of Functional and Molecular Imaging for GE Medical Systems. "This talented team brings strong competencies in the field of PET chemistry which will further accelerate projects focused on handling PET compounds beyond FDG, ultimately helping us to better serve our customers around the world."

About Coincidence Technologies S.A.

Coincidence Technologies S.A., established in 1996, and based in Liege, Belgium, is a company that develops and manufactures chemical systems used for the production and handling of radio-labeled compounds typically used in the field of Nuclear Medicine & PET. For more information, visit the Coincidence web site at http://www.coincidence.be.

About GE Medical Systems

GE Medical Systems is an $8 billion global leader in medical information and technology. Its offerings include networking and productivity tools, health care information systems, patient monitoring systems, conventional and digital X-ray, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance (MR), ultrasound and bone mineral densitometry, positron emission tomography (PET) and nuclear medicine. For more than 100 years, health care providers worldwide have relied on GE Medical Systems for high quality medical technology, services and productivity solutions. For more information, visit the GE Medical Systems Web site at http://www.gemedicalsystems.com.