Alere shares fall after it sued Abbott over $5.8 billion deal

Shares of Alere (ALR) fell about 3 percent Friday after it sued Abbott Laboratories (ABT) to compel the healthcare company to get U.S. antitrust approvals required to complete its $5.8 billion deal to acquire Alere.

In a statement, Abbott spokeswoman Darcy Ross said, "Alere's lawsuit is without merit. Abbott is compliant with its obligations under the merger agreement and continues to work toward regulatory approvals, despite Alere's nearly six month delay in filing its 2015 10-K."

Alere filed a complaint in Delaware Chancery Court Thursday, saying in part Abbott failed to "fulfill its obligations under the terms of the merger agreement."

Abbott said it would buy Alere earlier this year, but later stated it had concerns about the accuracy of various representations, warranties and covenants made by Alere in the deal, according to Reuters.

The healthcare company asked to get out of the agreement and offered to pay Alere's legal costs. In April, Alere said its board denied the request.

Alere said it expects the redacted version of the complaint, filed in court, to be publicly available next week, according to Reuters.

Separately, Abbott said in April it intended to purchase St. Jude Medical (STJ) in a $25 billion deal.

Alere's stock is up 1 percent year-to-date.

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