• CareFusion (San Diego) said it has agreed to sell its international surgical products (ISP) distribution business to Medline Industries (Mundelein, Illinois) for about $130 million. The ISP business is based in Rolle, Switzerland and has operations in 16 European and Asian-Pacific countries and distribution and assembly facilities in Germany, France, Spain and Australia. Medline will continue to distribute CareFusion products in certain geographies. The acquisition is expected to close in April, subject to customary conditions.

• Danaher (Washington) reported that it will acquire Beckman Coulter (Brea, California), a developer of products that simplify, automate and innovate complex biomedical testing, for nearly $6.8 billion. The merger agreement would see Danaher acquiring Beckman Coulter's outstanding common stock for $83.50 per share in cash, representing an approximate 45% premium over the closing price of Beckman Coulter's common stock on Dec. 9, 2010 before rumors of an acquisition entered the marketplace.

• DaVita (Denver) has agreed to acquire DSI Renal (Nashville, Tennessee) for about $690 million in an effort to expand its reach. The company expects to close the transaction in the second or third quarter of this year. DaVita anticipates that it will have to divest some centers as a condition of the transaction. DSI currently operates 106 dialysis centers serving nearly 8,000 patients. DSI's current annualized revenue is roughly $360 million.

• Emergency Medical Services (EMS; Greenwood Village, Colorado) said it has signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by an affiliate of Clayton, Dubilier & Rice in a $3.2 billion deal comprised of an equity purchase price of $64 a share with roughly 45.5 million net diluted shares and LP exchangeable units outstanding. The deal value also includes net debt and estimated transaction costs of about $300 million. EMS provides emergency medical services in the U.S.

• Frazier Healthcare (Seattle), a provider of growth equity and venture capital to high growth and emerging healthcare companies, said it has acquired Laboratory Supply Company (LABSCO; Louisville, Kentucky). LABSCO is the largest privately held supplier of diagnostic instrumentation and clinical laboratory products to hospitals, physician office laboratories, reference labs and other non-acute care settings in the U.S., according to Frazier. LABSCO will continue to operate under its name, Frazier noted. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

• Genzyme (Cambridge, Massachusetts) reported that it has completed the sale of its diagnostic products business to Sekisui Chemical (Tokyo) for $265 million in cash. Sekisui purchased substantially all of the assets of the business, including diagnostic product lines and technologies. Genzyme's nearly 575 employees in the business were offered similar positions with Sekisui, which plans to maintain operations in each of the business's current locations. In connection with the sale, Sekisui also entered into a supply agreement to provide Genzyme with certain enzymes needed for the production of Cerezyme (imiglucerase for injection).

• Physio-Control (Redmond, Washington) and BeneChill (San Diego), a maker of portable therapeutic cooling systems, reported a strategic partnership to launch the RhinoChill IntraNasal Cooling System in Europe. RhinoChill is a non-invasive, portable system for transnasally cooling the head and lowering the body's core temperature immediately following cardiac arrest, stroke or traumatic brain injury. Initially, the partnership will focus on bringing the system to market in the UK, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxemburg during 1Q11, using Physio-Control's European distribution network. Additionally, the two companies will work jointly to develop additional applications for BeneChill and work towards making the RhinoChill system available in the U.S.

• Kindred Healthcare (Louisville Kentucky) reported that it will acquire RehabCare Group (St. Louis) for $900 million. The merger plan calls for each stockholder of RehabCare to receive $26 per share in cash and 0.471 of a share of Kindred common stock. Based upon the average value of Kindred common stock, as defined, during the 10 trading days preceding the signing of the merger agreement, each RehabCare stockholder will receive consideration with a current value of nearly $35 per share. Kindred expects to issue nearly 12 million shares in connection with the pending transaction. The aggregate value of the pending transaction approximates $1.3 billion including $400 million of existing indebtedness.

• Novartis (Basel, Switzerland) reported that it would acquire Genoptix (Carlsbad, California) for $470 million. Novartis said that it will offer $25 a share for all outstanding common stock of Genoptix. That represents a 27% premium above the closing price of $19.76 on Jan. 21. Genoptix's board has unanimously approved the deal and has recommended that shareholders sell their stock. The acquisition will help Novartis speed development of companion diagnostics, tests that are designed to identify who may benefit most from a given medication.