PerkinElmer sees small deals by year end

By Bill Berkrot and Ransdell Pierson

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The chief executive of scientific instruments maker PerkinElmer Inc. (PKI.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) on Monday said his company aims to make "a couple more" acquisitions this year, likely in the same cellular screening and genetic screening areas as its recent deals.

"We have the firepower to do a significant amount of acquisitions," Gregory Summe said at the Reuters Health Summit in New York, citing the company's strong balance sheet and absence of "net debt."

Summe said PerkinElmer prefers to negotiate smaller, affordable deals rather than go after larger properties whose prices are bid up through auctions.

"Only if we felt we had overwhelming synergies would we look at those," he said, adding that the Boston-based company was looking to make several more small acquisitions next year.

"We have the ability to continue to make these investments," he added.

The company has made five small acquisitions so far this year, including NTD Laboratories and its technology to assess prenatal health risks and Spectral Genomics to research chromosomal abnormalities.

Summe said PerkinElmer would likely stick to its existing product areas rather than branch out into new areas. "We're interested in getting deeper, as opposed to adding some other area to the breadth," he said.

GENETIC SCREENING TO SEE ROBUST GROWTH  Continued...