April 1 (Reuters) - U.S. medical device maker Becton

Dickinson ( BDX ) is in talks with Thermo Fisher and

Danaher ( DHR ) for a potential sale of its life sciences unit,

the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.

Becton Dickinson ( BDX ) had in February announced its plan to

separate the unit, which consists of biosciences and diagnostic

solutions, after the Financial Times reported that activist

Starboard Value had taken a stake in the company and was pushing

for the divestiture.

Its shares have fallen about 7.5% since then.

The unit could be worth as much as $21.5 billion, the FT

reported, citing analysts at Bank of America.

Becton Dickinson ( BDX ) is also exploring a so-called Reverse

Morris trust tax-free deal with smaller diagnostics players such

as Waters Corp ( WAT ), Qiagen ( QGEN ) and Revvity ( RVTY ),

the report said, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Becton's biosciences and diagnostic solutions unit makes

diagnostic products such as those used to detect infectious

diseases and cancers.

Becton Dickinson ( BDX ), Thermo Fisher Scientific ( TMO ), Danaher ( DHR ), Waters

Corp ( WAT ), Qiagen ( QGEN ) and Revvity ( RVTY ) did not immediately respond to a

Reuters request for comment.

(Reporting by Surbhi Misra and Shubham Kalia in Bengaluru;

Editing by Varun H K)