WALTHAM, Mass., Jan. 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Alere Inc.
(NYSE: ALR), a global leader in rapid diagnostics, announced that
the European Commission has granted clearance for Abbott
Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) to acquire Alere Inc.
"This regulatory clearance marks a significant milestone toward
the completion of our transaction with Abbott and we remain highly
confident that the merger will close according to the terms of the
agreement," said Namal Nawana, CEO and President of Alere.
As previously announced on February 1,
2016, Alere has entered into a definitive agreement under
which Abbott will acquire Alere for $56 per common share in cash.
About Alere
Alere believes that when diagnosing and
monitoring health conditions, Knowing now matters™.
Alere delivers reliable and actionable information by providing
rapid diagnostic tests, enhancing clinical and economic healthcare
outcomes globally. Headquartered in Waltham, Mass., Alere focuses on rapid
diagnostics for cardiometabolic disease, infectious disease and
toxicology. For more information on Alere, please visit
www.alere.com.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements
This communication contains forward-looking
statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act
of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934, as amended, including statements regarding the
proposed merger, the expected timetable for completing, and the
Company's confidence with respect to the completion of, the
proposed merger and any other statements about the future
expectations, beliefs, goals, plans or prospects of the board or
management of the Company. Readers can identify these statements by
forward-looking words such as "may," "could," "should," "would,"
"intend," "will," "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate,"
"continue" or similar words. A number of important factors could
cause actual results of Alere and its subsidiaries to differ
materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements.
These factors include, but are not limited to, (i) the risk that
the proposed merger with Abbott Laboratories ("Abbott") may not be
completed in a timely manner or at all; (ii) the possibility that
competing offers or acquisition proposals for Alere will be made;
(iii) the possibility that any or all of the various conditions to
the consummation of the merger may not be satisfied or waived,
including the failure to receive any required regulatory approvals
from any applicable governmental entities (or any conditions,
limitations or restrictions placed on such approvals); (iv) the
occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could
give rise to the termination of the Agreement and Plan of Merger
(the "Merger Agreement") among Alere and Abbott pursuant to which
Abbott will acquire Alere, including in circumstances which would
require Alere to pay a termination fee or other expenses; (v) the
effect of the announcement or pendency of the transactions
contemplated by the Merger Agreement on Alere's ability to retain
and hire key personnel, its ability to maintain relationships with
its customers, suppliers and others with whom it does business, or
its operating results and business generally; (vi) risks related to
diverting management's attention from Alere's ongoing business
operations; (vii) the risk that stockholder litigation in
connection with the transactions contemplated by the Merger
Agreement may result in significant costs of defense,
indemnification and liability, (viii) the risk that Abbott prevails
in its lawsuit that it has filed against Alere in the Delaware Court of Chancery to terminate the
Merger Agreement; (ix) the risk that Alere fails to file its future
periodic reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q in a timely manner
which could, among other things, lead to the acceleration of the
maturity of certain of Alere's indebtedness; (x) the possibility
that any analysis of revenue recognition for future or past periods
uncovers an error or misstatements in revenue recognition which
require adjustment which may be material; or material weaknesses in
the Company's internal controls over financial reporting; (xi)
risks relating to the ongoing investigations by the SEC and the
United States Department of Justice; and (xii) the risk factors
detailed in Part I, Item 1A, "Risk Factors," of our Annual Report
on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015 (as filed with the SEC on
August 8, 2016) and other risk
factors identified herein or from time to time in our periodic
filings with the SEC. Readers should carefully review these
risk factors, and should not place undue reliance on our
forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are
based on information, plans and estimates at the date of this
communication. We undertake no obligation to update any
forward-looking statements to reflect changes in underlying
assumptions or factors, new information, future events or other
changes.
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SOURCE Alere Inc.