After a relatively quiet 2015 on the deal front, Abbott Laboratories (Abbott Park, Ill.) made some noise Monday with a plan to acquire Alere Inc. (Waltham, Mass) for $5.8 billion. The news comes less than a week after CEO Miles White hinted on the company's earnings call that management had its eyes on "a number of opportunities" and that adding to the business with mergers and acquisitions was a key priority. Diagnostics is one of Abbott's most consistent growth businesses, White said.