Technology Slice Blog

Beckman Coulter Exploring Sale - Beckman Coulter Inc., the Brea-based maker of laboratory equipment, is exploring a sale after it was approached by buyout firms interested in taking the company private, said people with direct knowledge of the matter. Beckman, with a market value of about $4 billion, hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to study whether to go private or search for a strategic buyer, said the people, who asked not to be named because the talks are private. Blackstone Group and Apollo Global Management are among the firms that approached Beckman, said two of the people. The process is in early stages, and any deal for the company would likely be months away, the people said. Beckman Coulter Exploring Sale General Electric Co., Danaher Corp. and 3M Co. are among industrial companies that have recently told financial advisers they are interested in acquiring makers of lab equipment or scientific instruments used in labs, said one of the people. Beckman said in September...