Abbott Seeks to Terminate Alere Deal -- Update
December 07 2016 - 2:01PM
Dow Jones News
By Tess Stynes
Abbott Laboratories said it has filed a complaint in court
seeking to terminate its $5.8 billion deal to acquire
diagnostic-test company Alere Inc., stepping up a battle between
the two companies.
In recent trading, Alere shares fell 9.6% to $36.05 and Abbott
declined 0.9% to $38.07.
"Alere is no longer the company Abbott agreed to buy 10 months
ago," Abbott communications executive Scott Stoffel stated in a
news release. Abbott said it has filed the complaint with the
Delaware Court of Chancery.
In a separate statement, Alere said the lawsuit is without merit
and that none of the issues raised by Abbott provide grounds to
cancel the deal. Alere said it has complied with its obligations
under terms of the deal. The company also said it plans to take all
necessary actions to protect shareholders and compel Abbott to
complete the acquisition.
Abbott reasserted that several negative developments have
diminished Alere's value since the deal was reached in late
January, adding that Alere has blocked Abbott's efforts to obtain
more details about the issues. These include the government
eliminating billing privileges at Alere's diabetes unit, a product
recall, government inquiries and the late filing of its 2015
financial results.
Abbott agreed to acquire Alere in late January, a deal Abbott at
the time expected would make it a leading provider of point-of-care
testing.
Write to Tess Stynes at tess.stynes@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 07, 2016 13:46 ET (18:46 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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