MDS Announces Sale of Memphis Pathology Laboratory
24 September 2004 - 2:00PM
PR Newswire (US)
MDS Announces Sale of Memphis Pathology Laboratory American
Esoteric Laboratories To Purchase 100% of MPL TORONTO, Sept. 24
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MDS Diagnostic Services, and its partners
Baptist Memorial System Services Corporation and Health Tech
Affiliates and Methodist Healthcare, today announced the sale of
the Memphis Pathology Laboratory (MPL) partnership to American
Esoteric Laboratories, Inc. (AEL). AEL immediately assumes full
responsibility for these operations, including employees and
facilities and will work with MDS to ensure a smooth transition for
customers and employees. MDS will realize CDN $26 million in
proceeds related to the sale of its share in the partnership, and
will record a gain on sale in the fourth quarter. "This sale takes
us one step further in repositioning our US laboratory business at
MDS," said Cam Crawford, President, MDS Diagnostic Services. "This
transaction allows MDS to effect an orderly exit from the Memphis
laboratory market and ensures a continuation of the services that
the hospitals and patients associated with this partnership have
come to expect," he added. The sale is a result of a comprehensive
review of MDS US laboratory operations and a resulting change in
the US laboratory strategy. This transaction does not affect its
joint-venture operations at Integrated Regional Laboratories (IRL)
in Florida and its relationship with the Duke University Health
System Clinical Laboratories. MDS Diagnostic Services is part of
MDS Inc., an international health and life sciences company (NYSE:
MDZ; TSX: MDS). At MDS Inc., more than 10,000 highly skilled people
provide enabling products and services for the development of drugs
and the diagnosis and management of disease. MDS focuses on helping
discover and test new drugs, assisting doctors to diagnose and
treat patients and preventing the spread of disease. Find out more
about MDS Inc. (TSX: MDS; NYSE: MDZ), at http://www.mdsintl.com/ or
by calling 1-888-MDS-7222, 24 hours a day. American Esoteric
Laboratories, Inc. (AEL) is a company designed to provide industry
leading turn-around-time, informatics, personalized service, and
other qualitative services in clinical reference testing to
hospitals and other specialized healthcare providers. The company's
primary emphasis is on clinical esoteric tests, which provide
physicians with the clinical information required to complete a
diagnosis, establish a prognosis, or to choose and monitor a
therapeutic regimen. The company frequently partners with hospitals
that have an outreach presence to compete in the routine test
market. AEL uses advanced information technology solutions to
accelerate and automate electronic assay ordering and results
reporting for its customers. AEL's Dallas laboratory will be
located at 6221 Riverside Drive, Suite 119, Irving, TX 75039, about
ten minutes from DFW International Airport. For more information
visit: http://www.ael.com/. This document contains forward-looking
statements. Some forward looking statements may be identified by
words like "expects", "anticipates", "plans", "intends",
"indicates" or similar expressions. The statements are not a
guarantee of future performance and are inherently subject to risks
and uncertainties. The Company's actual results could differ
materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of
factors, including, but not limited to, successful integration of
structural changes, including restructuring plans, acquisitions,
technical or manufacturing or distribution issues, the competitive
environment for the Company's products, the degree of market
penetration of the Company's products, and other factors set forth
in reports and other documents filed by the Company with Canadian
and US securities regulatory authorities from time to time.
DATASOURCE: MDS Diagnostic Services CONTACT: Investor Relations:
Sharon Mathers, Vice-President, Investor Relations, (416) 675-6777
x 2695, ; Media Relations: Naomi Nemeth, Director, Global External
Communications, (416) 675-6777 x 4692,
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