Nearly two months after rumors swirled that Brea, California-based Beckman Coulter was looking at buyout offers, the company has agreed to be purchased in a deal valued at $6.8 billion.

The manufacturer, which employs about 750 at its Chaska facility, entered into an agreement to be purchased by Washington, D.C.-based Danaher Corporation-which designs, manufactures, and markets products and services to professional, medical, industrial, and commercial customers.

Danaher will purchase Beckman Coulter for $83.50 per share, representing a 45 percent increase from the closing price on December 9-the date that speculation began about the potential sale of the company.

Shares of the company's stock closed at $75.17 on Friday.

Beckman Coulter's board has recommended that its shareholders approve the sale, which is expected to close in the first half of the year.

Under the agreement, Beckman Coulter will become part of Danaher's life sciences and diagnostics segment. It is unclear what the acquisition means for Beckman Coulter's Chaska manufacturing facility and its 750 employees. A Monday afternoon phone call to a Danaher company representative was not immediately returned and Beckman Coulter's representative told Twin Cities Business that the company was not sure of Danaher's future plans for the Chaska site.

Beckman Coulter was founded in 1935 and develops, manufactures, and markets products that simplify and automate complex biomedical testing, including diagnostic systems and life science research instruments.

In 2009, the company reported revenue of $3.3 billion, a 5.2 percent increase from $3.1 billion in 2008. The company reported an 8.6 percent increase in revenue for the third quarter, which ended in September. The company's financial information for 2010 is not yet available.