NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Laboratory Corporation of America today announced it is further extending its cash tender offer for Orchid Cellmark as it continues to provide answers to questions about the deal to the US Federal Trade Commission.
The $85.4 million proposed deal, announced in April, has been extended to 5 p.m. EDT, Nov. 14. It was previously extended to Nov. 4, and now has been extended eight times.
LabCorp has been notified by the depositary for the tender offer that as of 5 p.m. EDT, Nov. 4, shareholders of Orchid had validly tendered and not withdrawn 26,056,644 shares of the company's common stock, including 72,499 shares of Orchid common stock tendered through notices of guaranteed delivery. The tendered shares represent about 86.8 percent of Orchid's outstanding shares. Excluding those tendered by notices of guaranteed delivery, they represent about 86.6 percent of outstanding shares.
On a fully diluted basis, the tendered shares represent about 79.7 percent of outstanding shares, and 79.4 percent of outstanding shares, excluding those tendered by notices of guaranteed delivery.
The number of tendered shares is slightly down from a month ago, when LabCorp extended its tender offer for the seventh time and said that the number of shares validly tendered and not withdrawn was 26,244,903 shares, including 61,080 shares tendered through notices of guaranteed delivery.
The FTC requested information about the deal in May, and LabCorp said it is cooperating with the request.