It came down to Danaher Corp. and PerkinElmer Inc. in the bidding for Brea medical testing equipment maker Beckman Coulter Inc.
Danaher, a Washington, D.C.-based conglomerate, prevailed with its $6.8 billion acquisition of Beckman, which is set to close by midyear.
But Danaher had to top a bid by PerkinElmer, a Waltham, Mass.-based maker of diagnostic tests and products, according to Bloomberg.
Near the end of bidding for Beckman in early February, PerkinElmer was in the lead with a $5.1 billion offer.
For PerkinElmer, the bid was huge: The company would have almost tripled its $1.7 billion in annual sales by buying Beckman.
The offer also was about 55% higher than PerkinElmer’s market value, which was $3.3 billion at recent check.
Danaher, best known as the maker of Craftsman tools sold at Sears stores, matched that and then some in the final hours of bidding on Feb. 6.
PerkinElmer wasn’t allowed a chance to rebid, people familiar with the talks told Bloomberg.
A filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission showed that Danaher and nine others expressed interest in buying Beckman for at least $4.9 billion and signed confidentiality pacts in early December.
Danaher’s bid was one of the two lowest after revised offers came in on Dec. 22. The filing shows that Danaher was given several chances to re-enter the contest for Beckman.
The filing shows that four parties remained in the chase for Beckman as of Feb. 2—Danaher, PerkinElmer and two private equity consortiums. Apollo Global Management LLC of New York and Washington, D.C.-based Carlyle Group made up one private equity play for Beckman. The other was New York’s Blackstone Group LP and TPG Capital of Fort Worth, Texas, according to the filing and sources.
Danaher showed a degree of persistence in chasing Beckman, according to the filing.
A day after it was told its early offer was insufficient, Lawrence Culp, Danaher’s chief executive, called Glenn Schafer, Beckman’s chairman, to express continued interest in buying Beckman.
Danaher, which was advised by Morgan Stanley, told Beckman adviser Goldman Sachs Group Inc. that it would boost its offer and was allowed back into the fray.
Sources familiar with the bidding said the Apollo-Carlyle group dropped out prior to the final process.
Beckman said in the filing that its board determined that Danaher’s bid was “the best overall transaction” for its shareholders.
Goldman said in regulatory filings that in considering Danaher’s bid, it cited “a substantially higher certainty of closing,” a lower breakup fee and a deal structure that would result in a quicker closing.
Investment banks often advise companies to accept offers from larger buyers that have more cash and available financing, according to Bloomberg.
Danaher is using cash to pay for about 25% of the Beckman deal, with the rest coming from debt and stock.
Such factors trumped $7 billion in financing that PerkinElmer had lined up with the assistance of Bank of America Corp., which advised PerkinElmer on its bid.
St. Joseph Project
St. Joseph Health System, an Orange-based hospital operator, said it will be working with AT&T Inc. on a pilot project that will allow patients and doctors to exchange information electronically.
St. Joseph plans to place seven interactive wellness stations at locations around Southern California. They include Mission Hospital-Laguna Beach; Occupational Health Services at St. Jude Heritage Medical Group and St. Jude Neighborhood Clinic, both in Fullerton; Camino Health Clinic in San Juan Capistrano and a standalone kiosk in Rancho Cucamonga.
Two additional sites are set to be picked by the end of this year, according to St. Joseph.
The telehealth stations will allow patients to consult with doctors and nurses by video conferencing. St. Joseph plans to use the kiosks to improve patients’ access to specialty care, urgent care, wellness and health improvement services. They will use AT&T’s Telepresence video devices which include technology from Cisco Systems Inc.
St. Joseph officials said they wanted to address the needs of patients who are experiencing financial, social, geographic and other barriers to healthcare.
Bits and Pieces:
Agendia BV, a Dutch company with U.S. headquarters in Irvine, said it received a fifth Food and Drug Administration clearance for its MammaPrint breast cancer recurrence test. Two additional scanners and bioanalyzers are affected by the action, which will expand laboratory capacity to handle an increased number of tests, Agendia said … TriZetto Group Inc., a healthcare software maker that got its start in Newport Beach, bought Gateway EDI of St. Louis for an undisclosed price. TriZetto moved its headquarters from Newport Beach to Greenwood Village, Colo., last year; its new chief executive lives in Colorado … Viropro Inc., an Irvine drug maker, said it bought a Malaysian company, Alpha Biologics Sdn. Bhd., for $21 million.
