The Timeline Of A Contentious History: Abbott And Alere

The honeymoon phase was short lived in the ongoing affair between Alere Inc ALR and Abbott Laboratories ABT. About three months after the initial announcement of their merger deal, the bickering began.

Here is the long and complicated tale of two pharmaceutical companies:

• On February 1, 2016, Abbott confirmed a deal to acquire Alere for $56 per share.
• On March 15, 2016, after Alere missed an extended deadline for its 10K filing, Abbott said it still foresaw the merger closing by the end of 2016.
• On April 28, 2016, Abbott CEO Miles White declined to comment on the status of the deal during a shareholder conference call.
• On April 29, 2016, Alere’s board of directors rejected Abbott’s request to terminate the merger agreement. Abbott had offered between $30 million and $50 million to walk away from the deal after concerns mounted surrounding Alere’s finances.
• On June 1, 2016, Abbott allegedly began an audit of Alere’s books and records. Meanwhile, an Alere executive expressed confidence in the Abbott deal during a Bloomberg interview.
• On August 8, 2016, CNBC’s David Faber said Abbott was likely to sue Alere to terminate the deal.
• On August 26, 2016, Alere confirmed that it had filed a complaint against Abbott, which allegedly failed to meet obligations regarding the merger deal. An Abbott spokesperson said the lawsuit was “without merit,” as the company was working to close the Alere acquisition.
• On September 2, 2016, Alere won a bid to fast-track the legal case.
• On November 3, 2016, Abbott sued Alere for violating the terms of the deals.
• On December 7, 2016, Abbott announced its intent to terminate the deal. A company press release noted that Alere had lost significant value and was “not the company we agreed to buy.”
• On January 25, 2017, the European Commission authorized the acquisition on the condition that Alere divest Epoc and Triage tests as well as its BNP Reagents business.

"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," Alere CEO Namal Nawana said.

Abbott offered a different sentiment. A spokesperson told Benzinga that the company continues to gain regulatory approvals for the Alere acquisition, “But Alere clearly is not the company we agreed to buy and look forward to showing why that constitutes a material adverse event in court.”