Abbott and Alere Amend Terms of Merger Agreement

Abbott and Alere announced that the companies have agreed to amend the existing terms of their agreement for Abbott’s acquisition of Alere.

Under the amended terms, Abbott will pay $51 per common share to acquire Alere, for a new expected equity value of approximately $5.3 billion, reduced from the originally expected equity value of approximately $5.8 billion.

The transaction is expected to close by the end of the third quarter of 2017, subject to the approval of Alere shareholders and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including applicable regulatory approvals.

Under the amended terms, the date by which necessary regulatory approvals must be received has been extended to Sept. 30, 2017, from April 30, 2017. Additionally, the companies have agreed to dismiss their respective lawsuits.

On Feb. 1, 2016, Abbott and Alere announced a definitive agreement for Abbott to acquire Alere, the global leader in point of care diagnostics, which will significantly expand Abbott’s global diagnostics presence and leadership.

Point of care testing is a $5.5 billion segment and one of the fastest growing in vitro diagnostics segments, in part because many health care systems are increasing their reliance on these technologies to inform patient care decisions because of their ease of use, speed and accuracy.