Life Technologies Corporation has attracted interest from various firms, people familiar with the matter said. The Blackstone Group LP, Bain Capital, LLC and TPG Capital, L.P. are among the several interested parties, said the people, who asked not to be named as details of the auction are not public. The company said its board of directors has not decided on any specific course of action.

Due to the huge size of a potential leveraged buyout, private equity firms are expected to team up as the sale process advances, the people said, adding that the auction is still at an early stage and bidders have yet to conduct due diligence. Reuters added that Blackstone representatives were not immediately available for comment, while TPG and Bain declined to comment.