Waters Corporation closed its $18.8 billion transaction to combine with Becton Dickinson’s Biosciences & Diagnostic Solutions business, but reported that the acquired unit missed Q4 revenue expectations. Waters said headwinds included weaker diagnostics demand in China, export approval delays tied to a US federal government shutdown, and a mild flu season that reduced point‑of‑care testing sales. BD announced the sale closing as part of a broader portfolio reshape; BD will receive a $4 billion cash distribution from Waters and plans to use $2 billion to cut debt and $2 billion for share repurchases. Waters reorganized into four divisions to integrate the BD assets and flagged targets for growth in instrument replacement, e‑commerce and service attachment.