UNILAB SHARES RISE ON NEWS OF ACQUISITION.Byline: Ben Sullivan Daily News Staff Writer Unilab Corp. said Tuesday it has agreed to be bought by a New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of investment firm for $565 million in cash and debt. California's largest provider of clinical laboratory testing services said that privately held Kelso & Co. will pay $420 million in cash and assume about $145 million worth of debt in the deal, leaving it in control of 93 percent of Unilab's common stock. Unilab stockholders will receive $5.85 for each of their shares, a 20 percent premium over Tuesday's opening price of $4.985. News of the proposed sale, which has already been approved by Unilab's board of directors, pushed the firm's shares up 43.75 cents, or 8.77 percent, to $5.3125. The single analyst actively following Unilab said the deal is probably good for the company, but that that price is questionable. Nancy Weaver
The Weavers are small passerine birds related to the finches. These are seed-eating birds with rounded conical bills, most of which breed in sub-Saharan Africa, with fewer species in tropical at Little Rock, Ark.-based Stephens Inc. said the $5.85 per share offer represents about eight times 1999 cash flow, but just six times projected 2000 cash flow. If Unilab hits its 2000 projections, the sale price would have to be considered cheap, she said. Unilab and much of the state's health services health services Managed care The benefits covered under a health contract sector are rebounding after nearly a decade of shrinking margins brought on by the ascendence as·cen·dance also as·cen·dence n. Ascendancy. Noun 1. ascendence - the state that exists when one person or group has power over another; "her apparent dominance of her husband was really her attempt to make him pay of managed care. Unilab has operated in the black since the end of 1997 and has been on a buying spree of late, acquiring competitors in Sacramento and San Jose San Jose, city, United States San Jose (sănəzā`, săn hōzā`), city (1990 pop. 782,248), seat of Santa Clara co., W central Calif.; founded 1777, inc. 1850. in the last eight months. The company now controls about a quarter of California's clinical lab testing business, with 1998 sales of about $60 million. Despite such growth, Melissa Mahoney, Unilab's head of investor relations Investor relations The process by which the corporation communicates with its investors. , said that given the current state of the stock market, a sale is the best option for shareholders. ``We're a small-cap Small-cap A stock with a small capitalization, meaning a total equity value of less than $500 million. small-cap 1. Of or relating to the common stock of a relatively small firm having little equity and few shares of common stock stock and don't get noticed much. You work really hard chasing investors and analysts and have this great story to tell and still your stock languishes,'' Mahoney said. ``This takes out the uncertainty (for shareholders).'' Unilab shares have traded in the $2 to $5 range since January 1998. Under terms of the deal, Unilab will be merged with an existing Kelso company, UC Acquisition Sub Inc., but will continue to operate as an independent entity under its current name. Kelso officials said they will then invest roughly $139 million in the operation. |
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