Danaher, Blackstone pursue joint bid for J&J unit: sources

Healthcare conglomerate Danaher Corp has teamed up with Blackstone Group LP to bid for Johnson & Johnson's diagnostics unit, which makes blood screening equipment and laboratory blood tests and could fetch more than $4 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Danaher-Blackstone consortium is competing against several private equity bidders for J&J's Ortho Clinical Diagnostics unit, including Bain Capital LLC; Carlyle Group LP ; BC Partners Ltd; and a partnership of CVC Capital Partners Ltd and Leonard Green & Partners LP, the people said.

J&J, which received preliminary offers for the division in late September, is seeking a new, interim round of bids by November 11, the people said on Thursday, asking not to be named because the matter is confidential.

Blackstone, BC Partners, Carlyle and CVC declined to comment. Representatives for J&J, Danaher, Bain and Leonard Green did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

J&J had initially hoped to fetch as much as $5 billion from selling the diagnostics unit, but potential buyers are now valuing the business closer to $4 billion, some of the people said.

(Reporting by Soyoung Kim and Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Editing by Bernard Orr)