San Diego’s Biosite Inc., which Fullerton-based Beckman Coulter Inc. hopes to buy for $1.55 billion, has agreed to talks with a rival suitor.
Biosite’s board has voted to hold talks with Inverness Medical Innovations Inc. of Massachusetts after the company came in with a higher bid for Biosite last week.
The Inverness offer “is reasonably likely to lead to a superior proposal,” the company said.
The company cautioned there’s no guarantee of a deal with Inverness and that its acquisition agreement with Beckman still is in effect.
Beckman Chief Executive Scott Garrett responded to word of the talks as he did to news of the Inverness offer, seeking to plant doubts about the viability of the proposal.
“The conditional and uncertain terms of the Inverness offer should give the Biosite board and its stockholders enormous pause,” Garrett said. “In our view, the fact that Inverness has not proposed a tender offer, which could be concluded relatively quickly, speaks volumes about the firmness of its financing.”
Inverness has said it has “financing commitments” but hasn’t elaborated on how it would pay for a deal.
Beckman plans to offer debt to pay for Biosite.
Beckman makes machines and chemicals for laboratories running tests for doctors as well as for medical and drug researchers. It had sales of $2.5 billion last year and a recent market value of $3.9 billion.
Biosite makes diagnostic tests for heart disease.
Inverness, which has annual sales of $600 million, makes a range of diagnostic products, including tests for mononucleosis, pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
The company also makes home pregnancy tests and fertility monitors sold under brands Clearblue Easy, Fact Plus and Accu-Clear. It also makes StressTabs and Posture-D vitamins.