MAJOR PAPERS:

• In what may trump a GBP1.6B bid from a private-equity led consortium consisting of The Goldman Sachs Group Inc's (NYSE: GS) Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, Candover Investment (OTC: CDRIF), and Alpinvest, Expro International Group (OTC: EXPRF) said it received a GBP1.71B bid proposal from Halliburton Company (NYSE: HAL), the Wall Street Journal reported. Expro said the proposal "does not amount to a firm intention to make an offer and is subject to certain preconditions."
• The Wall Street Journal also reported that the oil industry and some U.S. lawmakers are looking to end long-standing bans on domestic drilling put in place to protect areas that are environmentally-sensitive, fueled by concerns about global energy.
• In an interview with the Financial Times, Citigroup Incorporated's (NYSE: C) former chairman and CEO Sandy Weill acknowledged that choosing Chuck Prince as his successor in 2003 turned out not to be the "right thing" for the company and was flawed. Instead of handing the job to Prince, Weill said the board should have fostered competition among the bank's top managers for the job.

• According to the Washington Post, MedImmune, a unit of drug giant AstraZeneca Plc (NYSE: AZN),settled with Genentech Inc (NYSE: DNA) a lawsuit over a patented component of its best-selling drug Synagis, which is aimed at preventing respiratory infections in infants. No details of the settlement were provided.

Biomet Inc. (NASDAQ:BMET) makes a variety of medical products, such as replacements for knees and hips.

Now, a variety of private equity firms want the company to themselves: Blackstone Group, Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and the Texas Pacific Group. What's more, a founder of Biomet, Dane A. Miller, will also be an investor in the deal.

The price tag comes to $10.9 billion. And, it is a lofty valuation. It comes to 21X cash flows and 3.91X sales.

Then again, the company is likely to be sold-off in pieces – so as to pay down the debt load.

The stock didn't move on the news because, well, the company had been "in play" since April when it retained Morgan Stanley as its financial advisor.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and operates DealProfiles.com.