GE does not manufacture chromatography filters, and [Lonza] currently has a choice between Danaher and Sartorius as the two viable suppliers of these specific filters. Therefore, such a bundling and tying strategy would foreclose Sartorius and leave with no choice in chromatography filters. [Lonza] is also concerned about such bundling and tying and the consequent foreclosure effect more broadly, for example, for other filters and related consumables”. These concerns arise “from the must-have nature of GE’s Protein A - Lonza Complaint against DHR / GE merger, Note 484, European Commission

This complaint by Lonza highlights the core hurdle Danaher had to overcome to complete its $21bn acquisition of GE Healthcare in 2019. At the time, GE had ~90% market share in Protein A resins and Pall was the market leader in downstream filtration. Cytiva’s chromatography business generates the majority of Danaher’s Biotechnology EBITA. Lonza and multiple other customers were worried that Danaher would bundle Pall’s filters with GE’s chromatography resin to shut out competitors and increase its pricing power. 

The regulator disagreed for multiple reasons. Five years later, we may now discover just how Danaher plans to bundle products from the two companies. In Q1 24, Cytiva, the combined entity of GE and Pall downstream assets, began merging its sales teams. This research explores the history of Cytiva, the depth of its downstream moat, and the potential opportunity to bundle chromatography and filtration products.