NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – EKF Diagnostics Holdings today announced that the potential purchase of the company's Point-of-Care business by Chinese firm Jinjing has fallen through.
The firm had also received a non-binding preliminary proposal from an unrelated third party for its Clinical Chemistry and Molecular Diagnostics businesses in August, but that proposal has been withdrawn.
Instead, former Alere CEO Ron Zwanziger will now take over as chairman of EKF, while current chairman David Evans will become deputy chairman.
The Welsh manufacturer of molecular diagnostics and other products announced the intended sale of the firm in August, noting that then-shareholder Zwanziger would step up to chair the firm in the event that there was no sale.
Last week EKF extended the due diligence period deadline for Chinese bidder Jinjing, as reported in a recent update on the diagnostics arm of the company, but today the firm said Jinjing does not intend to make an offer.
Zwanziger, meanwhile, has been the founder and CEO of three "highly successful" medical diagnostic companies, EKF noted in a statement.
"Mr. Zwanziger brings strategic vision, leadership, extensive business and operating experience, and an immense knowledge of the industry to our board," David Evans said.
Most recently, Zwanziger was CEO and president of Alere for 13 years. He resigned in July of 2014 after being removed from these roles during a shakeup at the firm. He filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to buy out Alere for $3.8 billion in September of that year, a move that would have led to Alere's delisting from the New York Stock Exchange and the removal of the board of directors and a number of executives. That plan did not ultimately materialize.
Zwanziger was also chair of Inverness Medical Technology from that firm's inception in 1992 until 2001, and from 1981 to 1991 he was chairman and CEO of MediSense. He was also director of AMAG Pharmaceuticals from 2006 to 2011.