Quest Diagnostics to acquire LabOne
August 9th, 2005 Leave a comment Visited 44 times, 2 so far today
Quest Diagnostics to acquire LabOne
The biggest U.S. operator of medical-testing laboratories Quest Diagnostics Inc. has decided to acquire LabOne Inc. in a deal that is worth around $934 million. The deal would help Quest to add screening and risk-assessment services for life insurance companies such as State Farm. They would be paying around $43.90 a share to the investors in LabOne, which is based in Lenexa, Kansas.
The news was announced in a joint statement released by the two companies. The price Quest is paying for LabOne is around 17 percent premium over the prevailing market price of the share in the stock market. They happen to be one of the top providers of risk-assessment services for life insurance companies and accounts for around $260 million of the segment’s $1 billion a year in sales.
This acquisition for Quest is also their first since it agreed to buy diagnostic-service provider Unilab Corp. for $1.1 billion in April 2002. Market analyst Les Funtleyder said in a statement: “They’re looking for new market opportunities. People see this as a plus for them. It’s a positive for Quest as they’re buying some areas in which they don’t have existing business.”
LabOne also conducts drug testing for employers and had $468.2 million in 2004 sales, while Quest had $5.23 billion.
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August 24th, 2005 at 11:38 pm
Any idea if they are looking into buying other laboratory companies that do insurance testing and drug testing? Just wondering if they are looking to buyout there competition. Sounds like they have a good share of the market now already.
August 24th, 2005 at 11:38 pm
Any idea if they are looking into buying other laboratory companies that do insurance testing and drug testing? Just wondering if they are looking to buyout there competition. Sounds like they have a good share of the market now already.