Who Owns Pall Corporation?

Pall Corporation was founded in 1946 by David B. Pall, a chemist and inventor, in Glen Cove, New York (later headquartered in Port Washington, New York). David Pall developed innovative filtration technologies based on his research into membrane filtration and fluid purification. The company's early products focused on filtration solutions for industrial and military applications, including hydraulic fluid filtration for aircraft.

During the 1950s and 1960s, Pall Corporation expanded its filtration technology into new markets, developing products for the aerospace, pharmaceutical, and industrial sectors. The company became known for its expertise in microfiltration, ultrafiltration, and other separation technologies that could remove particles, microorganisms, and other contaminants from liquids and gases. Pall's filtration products were used in critical applications where contamination could cause equipment failure or product quality problems.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Pall Corporation expanded significantly into life sciences applications, developing filtration solutions for biopharmaceutical manufacturing and laboratory research. The growth of the biotechnology industry created substantial demand for sterile filtration products used in the manufacture of biological drugs, including monoclonal antibodies, vaccines, and other biologics. Pall's filtration products became essential components of biopharmaceutical manufacturing processes, where sterile filtration is required to remove microorganisms and other contaminants from drug products.

Pall Corporation grew into a publicly traded company, trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker PLL. By fiscal year 2014, Pall had revenues of approximately $2.8 billion and approximately 10,000 employees worldwide, with operations in the United States, Europe, Asia, and other regions. The company operated through two primary business segments: Life Sciences (serving biopharmaceutical, medical, and laboratory customers) and Industrial (serving aerospace, microelectronics, energy, and other industrial customers).

In May 2015, Danaher Corporation announced its agreement to acquire Pall Corporation for approximately $13.8 billion ($127.20 per share in cash). The acquisition was the largest in Danaher's history and significantly expanded Danaher's life sciences portfolio. Danaher's rationale for the acquisition was to add Pall's leading filtration and separation technology platform to its life sciences business, complementing Danaher's existing diagnostics and environmental solutions businesses.

The Pall acquisition closed on August 31, 2015. Following the acquisition, Danaher applied its proprietary Danaher Business System (DBS), a continuous improvement methodology based on lean manufacturing principles, to Pall's operations to improve efficiency and drive growth. Under Danaher ownership, Pall has continued to develop new filtration and separation technologies for biopharmaceutical manufacturing, laboratory research, and industrial applications.

In 2016, Danaher spun off a significant portion of its industrial businesses, including Pall's industrial filtration segment, into a new publicly traded company called Fortive Corporation. The remaining Pall life sciences filtration business was retained within Danaher's Life Sciences segment. This restructuring focused Pall's operations within Danaher on the higher-growth, higher-margin life sciences filtration market.

Pall Corporation's biopharmaceutical filtration business has benefited from the continued growth of the biologics drug market, which requires extensive filtration and purification at multiple stages of the manufacturing process. The development of new biologic drugs, including monoclonal antibodies, gene therapies, and cell therapies, has created demand for increasingly sophisticated filtration and separation technologies.