Does Beckman Bow To The Inevitable?

If multiple reports from respected sources like Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg are to believed, Beckman Coulter (NYSE:BEC) is on the block. If true, the board deserves applause for bowing out and seeking the best possible source of good returns for its shareholders. 

A Long Way From a Deal 

Beckman itself has not commented on any of the rumors, but multiple reports indicate that the company has tapped Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) to manage a potential sale of the company. Some reports have gone so far as to indicate that this is in direct response to the receipt of bids or indications of interest for the company - though apparently from private equity buyers and not other companies. (For more, see Potential Takeout Targets.)

 
Match Game 
The stock has shot up more than one-quarter in response to these rumors, and the market is once again playing the Chinese menu game (pick one from column A and then one from column B). It is unlikely that any of Beckman's current major rivals would want to make a bid. It would not make sense for Abbott (NYSE:ABT) to be eager to buy into the chemistry business (where Beckman is strongest). Siemens (NYSE:SI) and Roche (Nasdaq:RHHBY) would not only have potential antitrust worries to reconcile, but would also have to explain to their shareholders how that deal would complement their stated efforts to produce more growth from their testing businesses from next-gen technology.


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GE Goes Outside The Box In Healthcare

There is an old saying that if you are going to make predictions, you may as well make a lot of them. Even though I recently laid out multiple medical technology acquisition prospects for General Electric (NYSE:GE), GE managed to go off the board with an interesting purchase. 

On Friday morning, GE announced an agreement to acquire Clarient (Nasdaq:CLRT), a specialist in oncology diagnostics services. GE is paying cash in this deal, giving common shareholders $5 a share (versus Thursday's close of $3.74) and preferred shareholders $20 per share. That is a total deal value of $580 million for a company with about $100 million in trailing revenue.

As a major holder (more than 30 million shares as of September), Safeguard Scientifics (NYSE:SFE) will benefit significantly from this deal, booking roughly a $145 million gain in the transaction. (For more, see Is GE About To Stir Up The Medical Arena?)


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Good Luck, Peter

Saw an announcement after today's close that Peter Donato has resigned from his position as CFO at IRIS International. I had the pleasure of interacting with him a number of times while I covered his company as a sell-side analyst. Much as it pains me to praise any fan of Ohio State and the Detroit Redwings, I always enjoyed interacting with Peter, and IRIS is poorer for his departure.

I won't even begin to speculate as to why he is leaving the company and what it may, or may not, mean. People move on in business and it's just a fact of life. Still, it's another ripple through a company that seems to be pretty much cursed with them. Given what the company hopes to accomplish in the near term - filing for VELOCITY, securing FDA approval for ProsVue, launching those two products in the US, and rebuilding the company's reputation with the Street -- that is a pretty significant shake-up for the company.

I guess the "good news" here for an IRIS shareholder is that the value of the stock is pretty much based upon what the company *should* be able to do and not what it has been doing recently. Accordingly, assuming that the company recruits a qualified candidate, it shouldn't really impact the story over the long-term. Still, I would be nervous about what this management shake-up is going to do to the company's launch plans.

Again, best of luck Peter!