Shares of Alere (ALR) fell about 3 percent Friday after it sued Abbott Laboratories (ABT) to compel the healthcare company to get USA antitrust approvals required to complete its $5.8 billion deal to acquire Alere.
Advertisement
Abbott failed to “promptly secure antitrust approvals and other regulatory requirements”, Alere said in a filing Friday in Delaware Chancery Court. Short-selling firm Muddy Waters said on Thursday it had placed a bet that the shares would fall, claiming its implanted heart devices were vulnerable to cyber attacks.
In June, Alere said it was confident the deal would go through, even while Abbott, which had “serious concerns” about the accuracy of the financial information Alere submitted in the merger agreement, brought in auditors to go through the diagnostics maker’s books. Abbott officials offered to pay as much as $50 million of Alere’s legal costs tied to the deal earlier this year, an offer that was was rejected by Alere’s board. Abbott has suggested that Alere misrepresented itself when it negotiated the merger agreement.
Alere disclosed in an August 26 statement that it has filed a complaint against Abbott in Delaware Chancery Court, calling for the latter to fulfill its obligations under the terms their merger agreement-that is, actively work to obtain all required antitrust approvals to complete the transaction.
Officials of Abbott Park, Illinois-based Abbott weren’t immediately available for comment.
The suit was filed under seal late Thursday and details were disclosed in a filing on Friday.
Advertisement
Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal.
