MEDTOX Scientific – MTOX – Announces Agreement to Join LabCorp

MEDTOX Scientific, Inc. (Nasdaq:MTOX), a provider of high quality specialized laboratory testing services and on-site/point-of-collection testing (POCT) devices,  announced that it had entered into a definitive merger agreement with Laboratory Corporation of America® Holdings (NYSE:LH). Under the terms of the agreement, LabCorp would acquire MEDTOX for a purchase price of $27.00 per share in cash, representing a total enterprise value of approximately $241,000,000. The board of directors of MEDTOX unanimously approved the agreement and recommended approval of the transaction by MEDTOX’s shareholders.

“This transaction highlights the fundamental value of the MEDTOX brand, the talent and expertise of our team and the quality of our products and testing services,” said Dick Braun, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MEDTOX.  ”As part of LabCorp with its substantial resources and infrastructure, we expect to accelerate MEDTOX’s profitable growth and provide a stable and sustainable environment for our employees and clients.”

“We are extremely pleased that MEDTOX, a premier forensic and clinical laboratory with a reputation for exceptional quality, dependability and customer service is joining our family,” said David P. King, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of LabCorp.  “MEDTOX is an industry leader in specialized toxicology testing.  This acquisition provides a strong foundation for growth in this business, as we build and expand LabCorp’s Toxicology Center of Excellence and add to the unrivaled assets of the LabCorp Specialty Testing Group.”

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions including the expiration or early termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended, and approval by MEDTOX’s stockholders.  The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2012.

Leonard, Street and Deinard is acting as legal advisor and Lazard Middle Market is acting as financial advisor to MEDTOX.

About MEDTOX – MTOX

MEDTOX Scientific, Inc., (MTOX) headquartered in St. Paul, Minn., is a provider of high quality specialized laboratory testing services and on-site/point-of-collection testing (POCT) devices. The Company also supports customers with complete logistics, data and program management services. MEDTOX (MTOX) is a leader in providing esoteric laboratory testing services to hospitals and laboratories nationwide.

About LabCorp®     

Laboratory Corporation of America® Holdings, an S&P 500 company, is a pioneer in commercializing new diagnostic technologies and the first in its industry to embrace genomic testing. With annual revenues of $5.5 billion in 2011, over 31,000 employees worldwide, and more than 220,000 clients, LabCorp offers more than 4,000 tests ranging from routine blood analyses to reproductive genetics to companion diagnostics.

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Post Written By: Ed Liston Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing in his yacht.