On July 26, 2005, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its 'A+' corporate credit and senior unsecured ratings and stable outlook on Washington, D.C.-based diversified industrial manufacturer Danaher Corp. The action followed the company's announcement that it has agreed to acquire Leica Geosystems Holdings AG (BB+/Watch Dev/--) for approximately $1 billion ($950 million in cash and $80 million of assumed debt). The outlook is stable. Danaher had $1.5 billion of debt at June 30, 2005. Leica Geosystems (Leica), a roughly $600 million revenue base manufacturer of surveying and mapping equipment, fits nicely into Danaher's instrumentation business. Favorably, Leica has good geographic and customer diversity, has a significant technology base, and is a leader within its market, which is estimated at
