Beckman Tender Offer

Investors decided to keep $100 million worth of Beckman Instruments Inc.’s bonds instead of tendering them back to the giant instrument and diagnostics concern, the company said Monday.

The Fullerton company said none of its investors accepted its tender offer, which expired Friday. The bonds, issued in 1996, mature in 2026.

The company sweetened the bonds’ terms, thereby successfully persuading investors to hold them instead of tendering them back to the company, said Paul Glyer, its treasurer.

Glyer said the company encouraged the investors to hold the bonds because the 7.05% interest rate is attractive. In contrast, the company’s recent issue of $400 million worth of bonds were sold at a range of 7.45% to 7.10%, he said.

Beckman made the tender offer as a courtesy after its corporate debt was downgraded from A to the range of BBB- to BB+. The downgradings occurred when Beckman took on a lot of debt to finance its recent purchase of Coulter Corp. of Miami.