PHILIPS Eyes Agfa. . . iSite Users Beware!

An eagle-eyed anonomyous commenter spotted THIS article from Forbes, and assumed I would be interested.

It seems that Philips NV has joined the pool of Agfa suitors, according to "independent market sources." From the Forbes article:

Dutch electronics company Philips NV may launch a bid for Belgian peer Agfa-Gevaert NV, independent market sources said.

'Agfa's (share price is) higher because we heard Philips might launch a bid,' one trader told Thomson Financial News.

Another said he had heard the bid would be priced at 9 euros per share, well above Agfa's current price of 5.23 euros.

Agfa and Philips were not immediately available for comment.

Apparently, this is not yet substantiated, but it seems to be making the rounds in Europe:

Analyst Bart Jooris at Fortis (other-otc: FORSY.PK - news - people ) said he had heard the report, saying that while he did not know if they are true, Philips had downplayed the possibility of it aquiring Agfa in the past because its 'not interested in a restructuring story'.

He said any potential buyer would have to take the healthcare, graphics, and materials units, not just one of the three divisions.

'If, as a competitor, you want to buy Agfa, you have to buy the whole company,' Jooris told TFN, noting that in the absence of a bid, it may sell some divisions to a private equity partner.

Interesting turn of events. Maybe Philips will buy Agfa and sell off the PACS division. Maybe it will keep Agfa PACS and sell iSite to someone else. Siemens still needs a PACS, maybe they would be interested?

Stay tuned for further details as they become available....