Beckman Coulter, Inc. (NYSE: BEC), a leading developer, manufacturer, and marketer of products that simplify, automate, and innovate complex biomedical tests, and Biosite(R) Incorporated (Nasdaq: BSTE), a leading biomedical company commercializing proteomics discoveries for the advancement of medical diagnosis, have announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Beckman Coulter will acquire all of Biosite's outstanding common stock in a cash tender offer of $85.00 per share, or approximately $1.55 billion on a fully diluted share basis.

The proposed transaction is expected to immediately accelerate Beckman Coulter's revenue growth, improve operating margins and be accretive to GAAP earnings in 2008 and beyond.