LabCorp to Acquire Certain Assets of Quest Diagnostics

Under an agreement made in early February 2003, Laboratory Corp. of America (LabCorp, Burlington, NC, USA) agreed to pay US$4.5 million for certain assets of Quest Diagnostics (Teterboro, NJ, USA), following the completion of Quest's acquisition of Unilab Corp. (Tarzana, CA, USA). Quest's acquisition of Unilab for $813 million was recently approved by US regulators and is now completed.

The LabCorp purchase is designed to satisfy the concern of regulators that Quest's purchase of Unilab might harm competition of laboratory services in northern California. The assets LabCorp is acquiring include the leases for 46 patient service centers and contracts with independent physician associations in California (USA). LabCorp has been a pioneer in commercializing new diagnostic technologies and said it is the first US clinical laboratory to fully embrace genomic testing.

LabCorp combines its expertise in clinical testing technology with its Centers of Excellence. These include the Center for Molecular Biology and Pathology (Research Triangle Park, NC, USA), its National Genetics Institute in Los Angeles (CA, USA), its Center for Esoteric Testing (Burlington, NC, USA), and its ViroMed center in Minneapolis (MN, USA). The company had revenues of $2.2 billion in 2001.

"Strategically, the business acquired in this very important market also provides LabCorp with a solid foundation for generating additional revenues through both the routine physician market as well as business development activities in esoteric testing,” said Richard L. Novak, executive vice president and CEO of LabCorp.




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