General Electric announced on Monday it will sell its Biopharma unit to Danaher for $21.4 billion in cash as it reduces debt amid an ongoing corporate turnaround effort.

The transaction allows the company to slim down further, and covers instruments and software that support research and development of biopharmaceutical drugs, a business that comprises about 15 per cent of the revenues of GE's health sector.

Shares of GE rocketed higher after the announcement. The industrial giant was thrown out of the benchmark Dow Jones stock index in 2018 amid a prolonged slump in its power business that badly hit share price.

"Today's transaction is a pivotal milestone," said GE Chief Executive Lawrence Culp. "It demonstrates that we are executing on our strategy by taking thoughtful and deliberate action to reduce leverage and strengthen our balance sheet."