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US: Abbott files suit to end $5.8B purchase of Alere

By  |  December 8, 2016

Abbott Laboratories said on Wednesday that it had moved to terminate its proposed acquisition of Alere, citing a “substantial loss” in the value of the diagnostics company since they struck a deal 10 months back.

Abbott filed a complaint in the Delaware Court of Chancery to kill the deal it struck with Alere in late January, worth $5.8 billion at the time.

“This is likely posturing by Abbott to set up a scenario where a price cut could be arranged,” Canaccord Genuity’s Mark Massaro told Reuters.

He said Abbott’s best bet would be to create uncertainty to drive Alere’s stock lower so the company’s shareholders would agree to a lower price. Alere is slated to hold its annual meeting on Thursday.

Since the two companies announced the deal, Alere has faced multiple setbacks, while Abbott in April struck a deal to buy heart device maker St. Jude Medical for $25 billion.

Full Content: Fortune

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