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AMSTERDAM, June 15 (Reuters) Dutch electrical appliances maker Philips NV has agreed to buy Intermagnetics, a maker of magnets and imaging tools for hospital imaging equipment, for $1.3 billion in cash or $27.50 per share.

Intermagnetics shares closed at $21.38 on the Nasdaq on Wednesday.

Announcing the deal on Thursday, Philips said it anticipates Intermagnetics will be positive for its operating margin towards the end of 2007.

Philips said it is paying roughly 4.3 times historical revenues of $304 million over the last four quarters.

Philips shares rose 1.4 percent to 22.20 euros at 0730 GMT, in line with the DJ Stoxx European tech index.

Philips has spent several billion euros this year on acquisitions to expand its healthcare activities, where it sees more stable growth and profits than its bigger consumer electronics and semiconductor units.

''In the short term, we expect to gain equipment market share and to grow the installed base by expanding our product offerings with an accelerated innovation rate and a lower cost supply chain,'' Jouko Karvinen, CEO of Philips's medical systems division, said in a statement.

Intermagnetics develops, manufactures and markets high-field superconducting magnets used in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems. Philips is one of the top three makers of MRI systems, a $5 billion a year market.

MRI systems, which are radiation-free, are an alternative to X-ray systems and seen as a key tool for molecular imaging.

Through the acquisitions of Invivo and MRI Devices and in 2004, Intermagnetics also entered the market for monitoring devices and RF coils that work as a part of the overall MRI system to create images of specific areas of the body such as breast, head, knee and wrist.

The company sells its equipment to Philips, but also to Philips's main rivals General Electric from the United States, Siemens from Germany and Toshiba from Japan.

Intermagnetics started in 1971 as a spin-off from General Electric.

Philips said it will take a one-time charge of about 85 million euros ($107 million) in the second half of the year for research and development expenses, integration of supply chain and other items.

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