Second-round bids for medical diagnostics company Beckman Coulter (BEC.N) were due on Wednesday, and drew offers from two private equity consortia, sources familiar with the situation said. Beckman hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) to help it weigh strategic options, including a possible sale of the company, sources told Reuters in December. The company has a market valuation of more than $5 billion. Initial offers were due before Christmas and a number of private equity firms and strategic companies submitted bids. Second-round bids -- which some of the sources described as 'final bids' -- were due on Wednesday.
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