Shares of General Electric (GE) have surged more than 15% after the industrial conglomerate said it would sell its biopharma business to Danaher for $21.4bn (€18.9bn), its first major asset sale under new chief executive Larry Culp.

GENERAL ELECTRIC posted second-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ estimates, buoyed by itsfinance unit, as the industrial order backlog rose to a record level.