Inverness Medical: Biosite fails to respond to $90-per-share acquisition proposal

By Lisa Kerner

Charlotte, N.C., April 9 - Biosite Inc. failed to respond to an April 4 unsolicited proposal from Inverness Medical Innovations, Inc. to acquire the company for $90.00 per share.

"We are dismayed by Biosite's silence and disturbed by its continued disregard of its fiduciary duty to the Biosite stockholders," Inverness Medical chairman, president and chief executive officer Ron Zwanziger said in a company news release.

"We are confident that as Biosite stockholders review the proposed Beckman transaction, they too will have serious concerns regarding the integrity of Biosite's supposedly competitive bidding process and will apply pressure to the Biosite board to respond favorably to our superior proposal."

Inverness Medical's offer is higher that the $85.00-per-share agreement Biosite already has with Beckman Coulter, Inc., while business terms of both merger proposals are substantially similar.

On March 25, Biosite and Beckman Coulter announced a definitive agreement in which a Beckman Coulter subsidiary would acquire all of Biosite's outstanding common stock in a cash tender offer slated to expire on April 27.

Beckman Coulter said it remains committed to completing its acquisition of Biosite in the next 30 days.

Biosite is a San Diego-based biomedical company that develops products used in making medical diagnoses.

Beckman Coulter, located in Fullerton, Calif., develops products to automate biomedical tests.

Inverness, a diagnostic device developer based in Waltham, Mass., owned roughly 4.7% of Biosite's outstanding common stock as of April 5.

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