A Diagnostics & Imaging Week

Quest Diagnostics (Lyndhurst, New Jersey) and LabOne (Lenexa, Kansas) reported that in a vote held at a special meeting last week, LabOne shareholders approved the $934 million acquisition of the company by Quest.

The shareholder vote followed regulatory clearance of the transaction in mid-October. The deal, first disclosed in August (Diagnostics & Imaging Week, Aug. 11, 2005), was completed this week, Quest said.

“We are excited to join together with LabOne very shortly,” said Surya Mohapatra, PhD, chairman and CEO of Quest. “Combining with LabOne will further solidify our leadership position in diagnostic testing and strengthen our drugs-of-abuse testing business.”

He said the deal also would establish Quest as a leader in the testing-related business of providing health screening and risk assessment services to the life insurance industry.

Quest said it expects the transaction to generate annual synergies of about $30 million upon completion of the integration, which is expected to occur within two years of closing.

The acquisition is not expected to have a material impact on Quest’s 2005 earnings per share, excluding anticipated charges associated with the transaction. In 2006, the transaction is expected to be modestly accretive to earnings.

LabOne provides health screening and risk-assessment services to life insurance companies, as well as clinical diagnostic testing services to healthcare providers and drugs-of-abuse testing to employers.

Quest is the nation’s largest provider of diagnostic testing, information and services.