CHICAGO _ Abbott Laboratories' CEO remained guarded in his comments Wednesday about the company's proposed $5.8 billion acquisition of Alere, a health care diagnostics company, doing little to clear the uncertainty over whether the deal would be completed.
"I have no particular predictions to make," said Miles White during a conference call about Abbott's second-quarter earnings.
Abbott tried to terminate the merger agreement, announced in February, after Alere disclosed a U.S. investigation into foreign corruption related to its sales practices in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Alere also has delayed filing its 2015 annual report, a document needed before its shareholders can vote on the Abbott transaction.
Last week, Alere said it plans to restate certain results but still could not provide details as to the timing of filing its annual report.
Alere's update did not satisfy Abbott executives. White said the update "provided no new information."
"From our perspective, there's been no change," he said. "They still haven't filed a 10-K (annual report) and our access to information has been limited."
Abbott agreed to pay $56 per share to acquire Alere and take on $2.6 billion of its debt. Alere, based in Waltham, Mass., specializes in tests used in doctor's offices or clinics to quickly diagnose disease or infection.
Alere said in late April that it rejected an offer of up to $50 million by Abbott to walk away from the deal.
White was more enthusiastic about another pending deal: Abbott's $25 billion acquisition of St. Jude Medical, announced at the end of April. "Everything is tracking well," he said.
