Abbott (Abbott Park, IL) and Alere Inc (Waltham, MA) formed a definitive agreement whereby Abbott will acquire Alere. Under the terms of the agreement, Abbott will pay $56 per common share for a total expected equity value of $5.8 billion. The combined business will offer a broad point of care menu of infectious disease, molecular, cardiometabolic and toxicology testing, expanding Abbott’s platforms to include benchtop and rapid-strip tests. Upon completion of the transaction, Alere will become a subsidiary of Abbott. Alere’s net debt, currently $2.6 billion, will be assumed or refinanced by Abbott. The transaction has been approved by the boards of directors of Alere and Abbott, and is subject to the approval of Alere shareholders and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including applicable regulatory approvals.
Thoughts or comments on today’s breaking news? Let us know below.
This is good news for Alere as it has struggled with R&D and the integration of many acquisitions over the past few years. Hopefully, Alere will now be able to benefit from Abbot’s deep development capability and accelerate the development of new and innovative platforms of POC products.
I was fortunate enough to speak at Abbott POC’s NSM last week where I presented on consolidation in healthcare. And once again our industry continues to consolidate, proving the team sales approach with a corporate pitch is becoming more and more important.
Consolidation in an industry is always an interesting trend to watch. It provides opportunity for the companies consolidating as well as for the companies choosing to go at it on their own.
These are two great organizations and we wish them the best as they become one!