Aug 28 (Reuters) - Danaher Corp (DHR.N) said on Monday it would buy smaller rival Abcam Plc in an all-cash deal valued at $5.7 billion including debt, as the medical tools supplier expands its services to capture bigger contracts. The deal will help Danaher cushion the hit from sluggish demand for its products such as antibodies and sample preparation equipment from smaller biotech companies that are grappling with a funding crunch. Danaher, one of the world's largest suppliers of medical tools, has already cut its annual sales growth forecast multiple times this year. "This is a nice tuck in deal for Danaher that checks all the boxes. Reuters reported on Friday that Danaher was in the lead to acquire Abcam.

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Persons: Vijay Kumar, Danaher, Jonathan Milner, Manas Mishra, Shounak Dasgupta, Sriraj Organizations: Danaher, Abcam Plc, Reuters, Bloomberg, Electric, Thomson Locations: Cambridge, England, Bengaluru