Applied Biosystems creates a dilemma

Perkin-Elmer Corp., facing investor calls to divest its booming Applied Biosystems unit to shareholders, plans to report on the strategic alternatives it is considering for the division at its annual meeting in October.

PKN (Norwalk, Conn.) reported revenues of $1.1 billion for the fiscal year ended June 30, of which Applied Biosystems accounted for about 42 percent. When PKN acquired Applied Biosystems in 1993 in a stock swap worth $330 million, the latter accounted for about 25 percent of revenues. Thus the Applied Biosystems unit (Foster City, Calif.) has been growing far faster than the rest of the company, and PKN has estimated that Applied Biosystems' business could grow from about $500 million today to $1.5 billion in five to 10 years...