International Murex Gets What It Wants
Executive Summary
The $234 million purchase of International Murex Technologies Corp. by Abbott Laboratories may seem like a pricey deal, but it isn't if one considers that the whole of Murex is worth more than the sum of its parts. Murex has no stellar technology, but rather a broad portfolio of niche tests in virology and infectious diseases. Abbott is interested in Murex' blood banking business, its rapid HIV diagnostic assay, its attractive patent portfolio, and its microtiter plate technology.