MDS Finalizes Sale of Diagnostics Business to Borealis Infrastructure in $1.3B Transaction
26 Febbraio 2007 - 1:00PM
PR Newswire (US)
Immediately Initiates $500M Share Buyback TORONTO, Feb. 26
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MDS Inc. (TSX: MDS; NYSE: MDZ), a global
life sciences company, announced today that it has concluded the
sale of its Canadian laboratory services business, MDS Diagnostic
Services, to Borealis Infrastructure Management Inc. in a CAD$1.325
billion transaction. Under this agreement, Borealis Infrastructure,
an investment entity of Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement
System (OMERS), has acquired MDS Diagnostic Services. This
laboratory services business will continue to operate under the
name of MDS Diagnostics Services until later this year. From the
total transaction price of CAD$1.325 billion, MDS will realize net
proceeds of approximately CAD$1.052 billion, comprised of $977
million in cash and $75 million in an unconditional note, payable
in March 2009, after provision for taxes, expenses and amounts
attributable to minority interests. The MDS Board of Directors has
authorized a CAD$500 million one-time share buyback of its common
shares through a dutch auction-type substantial issuer bid. The
company intends to mail an issuer bid circular with the details for
tendering common shares to shareholders on February 28, 2007. The
company expects to repurchase up to 16.5% of the common shares in
the range of CAD $21.00 to $23.50 per share through the issuer bid
which will expire on April 5, 2007. "With this transaction, we have
closed a chapter in our company's history by completing our
transition to a global life sciences company," said Stephen P.
DeFalco, President and Chief Executive Officer, MDS Inc. "With our
recently announced plans to acquire Molecular Devices Corporation,
we have begun a new and exciting chapter focused on growth." With
the close of this transaction, MDS is now a pure play, global life
sciences company. It generates 95 percent of its revenues from
global markets in which the Company's three business units, MDS
Pharma Services, MDS Nordion, and MDS Sciex operate. About MDS Inc.
MDS Inc. (TSX: MDS; NYSE: MDZ) is a global life sciences company
that provides market-leading products and services that our
customers need for the development of drugs and diagnosis and
treatment of disease. We are a leading global provider of
pharmaceutical contract research, medical isotopes for molecular
imaging, radiotherapeutics, and analytical instruments. MDS has
more than 5,600 highly skilled people in 28 countries. Find out
more at http://www.mdsinc.com/ or by calling 1-888-MDS-7222, 24
hours a day. About Borealis Infrastructure Management Inc. Borealis
Infrastructure identifies, invests in and manages OMERS
infrastructure assets, which provide competitive and stable rates
of return over a long investment horizon. In the business since
1998, Borealis is a global leader in infrastructure investing, with
assets in energy, transportation, infrastructure buildings,
including long-term care facilities and hospitals, pipelines and
telecommunications. Visit the Borealis Infrastructure website at
http://www.borealisinfrastructure.com/ for more information. OMERS
is one of Canada's largest pension plans, with more than $41
billion in assets. It manages retirement benefits for over 370,000
members on behalf of 900 local government employers across Ontario.
Visit the OMERS website at http://www.omers.com/ for more
information. DATASOURCE: MDS Inc. CONTACT: Investors: Sharon
Mathers, Vice-President, Investor Relations and External
Communications, MDS Inc., (416) 675-6777 x 34721, ; Media:
Catherine Melville, Director, External Communications, MDS Inc.,
(416) 675-6777 x 32265, ; Michael Rolland, Senior Vice President,
Borealis Infrastructure, (416) 361-1011, ; Debbie Oakley, Senior
Vice President, Corporate Affairs Division, OMERS, (416) 369-2402,
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