LabCorp (NYSE:LH) finally has the regulatory go-ahead to complete its $85 million acquisition of DNA testing company Orchid Cellmark (NASDAQ:ORCH).
The laboratory services and diagnostics firm said that it has reached an agreement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission that calls for the company to sell off parts of Orchid’s U.S. government paternity business following the closing of the deal. LabCorp said it will sell those assets to DNA Diagnostics Center, a Fairfield, Ohio-based company that provides DNA paternity testing at its locations throughout the country and around the world.
The agreement with the FTC comes eight months after Burlington, North Carolina-based LabCorp announced it would acquire Orchid. The deal was intended to bolster LabCorp’s identity testing offerings while also giving the company a presence in the United Kingdom market, where Princeton, New Jersey-based Orchid already has operations.
LabCorp initially expected the Orchid deal to close in May. But in the following months, the FTC kept asking for more information. LabCorp has extended its offer for Orchid 10 times while regulators continued their review of the deal.
LabCorp’s cash tender offer of $2.80 per share is now set to expire at 5 p.m. on Dec. 9.
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By Frank Vinluan
Frank Vinluan is the North Carolina Bureau Chief for MedCity News.More posts by Author
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