NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Health Diagnostic Laboratory today said that True Health Diagnostics submitted a successful bid of $37.1 million to acquire substantially all of HDL's assets.
Richmond, Virginia-based HDL is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and last week True Health submitted a "stalking horse bid" of $32 million to acquire the firm's assets. During an auction proceeding on Thursday, the Frisco, Texas-based diagnostics firm increased its offer to beat out bids from other interested buyers, HDL said.
The sale is subject to final approval by US Bankruptcy Court. A Sept. 16 hearing on the matter has been scheduled, and the deal is anticipated to be completed by the end of the month.
True Health CEO Chris Grottenthaler said in a statement that HDL's business "aligns perfectly with ours." His firm will retain "hundreds" of HDL's employees, he added.
HDL filed for Chapter 11 protection in June shortly after reaching an agreement with the US Department of Justice to settle an investigation into whether HDL's payments to doctors were essentially kickbacks to encourage them to order the firm's tests. HDL agreed to pay nearly $50 million as part of the settlement but denied wrongdoing.