Interest in Beckman Coulter (BEC.N) from strategic bidders is waning and a deadline for final bids for the medical testing company is approaching in early February, several sources familiar with the situation said on Friday. Diversified industrial companies Danaher Corp (DHR.N) (DHR.N) remains in the auction, one source familiar with the matter said. It was unclear whether any other strategic firms are still interested, three sources said, while other sources said private-equity bidders remain in the auction. "Strategic bidders" refers to corporate buyers that are in the same sector as a target and may thus be able to extract cost savings by merging their businesses -- as opposed to private equity buyers, which typically buy targets using debt.
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