BIOTECHNOLOGY : Nichols Institute Plans to Buy Labs in Texas, New Mexico
Nichols Institute, a fast-growing national chain of medical laboratories, is forging ahead on the acquisition trail with plans to buy a system of three testing facilities in Texas and New Mexico.
Nichols said it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire PathLab in El Paso for $7.2 million in cash, $3.85 million in notes and future payments with a present value of $1.85 million.
The deal is subject to several conditions, including approval of PathLab’s shareholders.
Jim Whitmer, Nichols’ chief financial officer, said the company is anxious to expand its presence in Texas, a market it entered late last year when it built a laboratory in Dallas in a joint venture with three north Texas hospital systems.
The PathLab acquisition, Whitmer said, would enable Nichols to reach into western and eastern Texas and New Mexico, since PathLab operates laboratories in El Paso and San Antonio, and Las Cruces, N.M.
Nichols launched an expansion program in 1986 to buy diagnostic laboratories to support its nationally known specialty laboratory in San Juan Capistrano. It has also acquired facilities in San Diego, the Pacific Northwest and the Midwest.
