Abbott Completes Alere Acquisition
Oct 03, 2017 | staff reporter
NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Abbott said today in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission that it has completed its acquisition of Alere, concluding a deal first announced in February 2016.
The filing follows a flurry of activity last week that saw Abbott and Alere receive clearances, some conditional, from the US Department of Justice, US Federal Trade Commission, and the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
In 2016, Abbott offered to buy Alere for $5.8 billion, but sales and accounting issues at Alere delayed the deal from moving forward. In April 2017, the firms amended the terms of their acquisition agreement and dismissed lawsuits they had filed against each other. Under the amended terms, Abbott said it would buy Alere for a new price of about $5.3 billion.
Abbott said in the SEC filing today that the "aggregate consideration" paid regarding the merger was about $4.6 billion. Each Alere share of common stock was converted into the right to receive $51 in cash.
Abbott added that in connection with the merger, it borrowed $2.8 billion under a term loan agreement and $1.7 billion of revolving loans under a five-year credit agreement. Proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes, including "to finance the merger, to repay certain indebtedness of Abbott and Alere and its subsidiaries, and to pay fees and expenses" related to the merger, Abbott said.
Abbott noted that the revolving credit agreement provides it with the ability to borrow up to $5 billion on an unsecured basis.
Under the terms of the deal, Alere became a subsidiary of Abbott. Separately, Alere said in an SEC document that its shares have been removed from the New York Stock Exchange.
In mid-day trading on the New York Stock Exchange, shares of Abbott were up less than one percent to $53.90. |
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