Merger agreement with Abbott on: Alere CEO

US-based diagnostic company Alere confirmed that the merger agreement it signed with Abbott earlier in the year is still on. ''It is on,'' said  the company's President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Namal Nawana, who's in the country for launching a manufacturing facility in Manesar, on Wednesday, Dispelling apprehensions about the deal getting stuck.

Alere, a company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), signed an agreement with Abbott in February for merging the two companies. However, Abbott expressed reservations about Alere not disclosing its financials in a transparent manner as part of the merger agreement, thereby casting a doubt over the deal. Alere had said that revealing its financials to the US securities regulator will be delayed for 2015 .

The two companies had signed an agreement of merger estimated at $5.8 billion.

While seeking termination of the agreement, Abbot reportedly offered to pay $30 billion to $50 billion, depending on the expenses incurred by Alere for working out the pact. However, Alere went on to reject Abbott's proposal to terminate the merger agreement.

Subsequently, Abbott announced its intent to purchase St Jude Medial Inc for $25 billion.

Meanwhile, Alere Inc's Indian subsidiary Alere Medical Private Ltd has launched its unit in Manesar. Speaking to Business Standard at an event in the capital, Nawana said that the company would like to concentrate on the business it specialises in- Caridio-metabolic diseases, infectious diseases and toxicology. Nawana stressed that since Alere is the leader in this genre of diagnostics, it needn't worry about competition.

Planning to focus on the hinterlands in India, he said the equipment may look complicated, but in reality are so user-friendly that anyone who has passed the eighth grade can use it. He also said that India has the trained manpower to operate such equipment.

Alere Medical Private Ltd is eyeing a revenue of Rs 1,000 crore from the Indian market in the next two to three years with an initial investment of Rs 150 crore to set up its Manesar facility.