1 - Why would I have been answering your question? I was replying to martberson, not you.
2 - Anyone who thinks that VARI would see $70/share again in the next 2-3 years is an idiot.
3- GC/MS, LC/MS, ICP/MS, etc. are combo systems, not separate product lines.
4. Some of the overlap in those product lines will be retained, some will be discontinued. Varian has some model types that Agilent does not have, such as ion-trap.
5. NMR, FT-IR, FTMS, MRI, XRD and Vacuum products do not overlap with any Agilent products. Combined, these groups make-up a far larger percentage of Varian than the divisions that do overlap.

From what I can see, almost all of the lay-offs at Agilent have been in the ET&M and the now spun-off Semiconductor division. Also, a major portion those 30K lost jobs were planned as part of the original spin-off from HP, so blame Carly for those. Bio-Analytical & Life Sciences, which is the division Varian will become a part of, is easily the fastest growing division of Agilent.

As I said in my previous post, there's always some risk when one company acquires another. There will be lay-offs, especially at the corporate levels and in the overlapping divisions. But I wouldn't assume that all of them will be on the Varian side. That said, smart people keep their resumes updated, whether their employer has been acquired or not. However, since I'm in what will be a new product line for Agilent, I'm not really any more concerned about my job now than I was 3 weeks ago.

BTW, my stock position in VARI is very small, less than 1000 shares. My viewpoint on this acquisition is as as employee, not as a shareholder.