Waltham, Mass.-based Alere and Abbott Park, Ill.-based Abbott Laboratories are willing to bring in a mediator to help the medical testing firms resolve a dispute over antitrust clearance for their stalled $5.8 billion merger, reports Bloomberg News.
The mediation would cover Alere's claims that Abbott executives are delaying securing required regulatory approvals for the proposed merger, according to the article. Last month, Alere executives filed a complaint in Delaware Chancery Court alleging Abbott failed to obtain the necessary antitrust approvals.
But the dispute over antitrust clearance for the merger is not the only issue that's come up between the two parties. Alere also contends Abbott wants to unfairly back out of the deal while Abbott claims Alere has withheld information about federal bribery probes, reports Bloomberg News.
In a letter filed Wednesday in Delaware Chancery Court, Alere stressed the importance of the mediation in trying to resolve questions about whether Abbott's efforts to win regulatory clearance from U.S. and foreign regulators violated the deal's terms, the article states.
Abbott's proposed purchase of Alere was signed Jan. 30.