European Commission Clears Abbott Acquisition of Alere

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.