Inverness Bids on Biosite, Inc.

Inverness Medical Innovations, Inc. threw their hat into the ring to purchase Biosite. Beckman Coulter and Biosite jointly announced plans to merge almost two weeks ago, in a $1.55 billion deal. This offer was trumped by a $1.6 billion offer by Inverness.

Inverness manufactures medical diagnostic kits, including home pregnancy tests. Biosite primarily owns tools for cardiology assessment and testing; one which can rapidly diagnose congestive heart failure. Inverness is a small company located in Massachusetts, about the same size as Biosite. Beckman Coulter, of California, is about twice the size of both. Inverness already purchased almost five percent of Biosite.

The bidding war is not new among medical companies; such tactics started emerging in the industry over the past year. The current developments with the Inverness bid suggest that the Biosite sale and acquisition may become increasingly hostile.

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