LONDON: Abbott Laboratories agreed to buy Alere Inc. at a lower price than previously offered, ending a legal battle over the merger between the two US-based health-care companies.
Abbott will buy Alere for $51 (Dh187) per share, the companies said Friday in a statement. The new transaction values Alere’s equity at $5.3 billion, or 8.6 per cent less than its initial offer. The companies said they expect the deal to close by the end of third quarter, pending shareholder and regulatory approval.
Abbott had sued to break up its earlier $5.8 billion takeover of medical-device maker Alere, arguing the deal target hid material information about legal and regulatory problems. The transaction has dragged on for more than a year as Alere disclosed subpoenas on bribery investigations, restated earnings and recalled products — escalating to the Abbott suit in December.
Abbott Laboratories offered to buy Alere last year in order to gain the smaller company’s suite of diagnostic testing devices and products. At the time the two US companies said that the deal would boost Abbott’s diagnostics business to about $7 billion in sales after the deal closed.
Alere’s main products are used for testing blood levels, as well as diseases like the flu and HIV. They are also used for testing for drug and alcohol use. Abbott already sells the I-Stat, which can run 26 common laboratory tests in minutes using just a few drops of blood.
Medical-device manufacturers have undergone consolidation as they come under pressure from hospitals and health systems to cut prices.
The Financial Times earlier Friday reported the companies had agreed to lower the price and end their legal dispute.
