Alere Is Suing to Force Abbott to Complete Their $5.8 Billion Merger

Abbott To Sell Generic Drug Unit To Mylan For $5.3 Billion
The logo for Abbott Laboratories sits atop a tower at the company's headquarters in Abbott Park, Illinois, U.S., on Monday, July 14, 2014. Abbott Laboratories said it plans to sell its generic drug business for established markets to Mylan Inc., getting in return a share of the newly combined companies in a deal valued at about $5.3 billion. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
Photograph by Daniel Acker — Bloomberg via Getty Images

Diagnostic-testing company Alere, which has agreed to be bought by Abbott Laboratories, said on Friday it filed a lawsuit, seeking to compel Abbott to obtain all antitrust approvals required to complete the deal.

Abbott (ABT) has been reluctant to push through the deal and requested to call it off in April, raising concerns about the accuracy of covenants, warranties and various representations made by Alere in the merger agreement.

Alere (ALR) has received two U.S. Department of Justice subpoenas this year as part of two separate government investigations into its sales practices, and patient-billing records related to Medicare, Medicaid and Tricare.

See also: Pfizer Breakup May Depend on Trump or Clinton Winning the Election

The company said on Friday it expects the redacted version of the complaint, filed in a Delaware chancery court against Abbott on Thursday, to be publicly available next week.

Alere’s lawsuit was “without merit,” an Abbott spokeswoman said.

“Abbott is compliant with its obligations under the merger agreement and continues to work toward regulatory approvals, despite Alere’s nearly six-month delay in filing its 2015 10-K (annual report).”

 

Alere shares were down 2.6% at $39.64. The stock had fallen about 25% since the Abbott deal was announced through Thursday’s close.

Abbott, whose shares were down 0.3% at $42.70, agreed to buy St Jude Medical (STJ) for about $25 billion in April.