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Abbott Laboratories filed suit to terminate its $5.8 billion purchase of Alere Inc., citing setbacks since the deal was signed in January that it says have significantly eroded the value of the medical-test maker. The news sent Alere shares falling as much as 11 percent on Wednesday, and they were down 7.7 percent to $36.79 at 1:26 p.m. in New York. Alere called the lawsuit “entirely without merit,” and said in a statement that it has complied with all of the terms under the merger. Shares of Abbott Park, Illinois-based Abbott fell less than 1 percent to $38.20. (Cortez, Feeley, 12/7)

Abbott Laboratories on Wednesday filed suit to terminate its acquisition of medical-test maker Alere Inc., adding a new chapter to what has become one of the year's ugliest merger spats. Alere said the suit is without merit and will "take all actions necessary" to force Abbott to see the deal through. The moves come just weeks after the companies looked to be making progress toward a rapprochement of sorts over their $8.4 billion deal (including debt), with Alere agreeing to turn over information related to bribery probes and U.S. billing issues that arose following the announcement of the deal in February. Alere, however, appears to have interpreted that settlement as more of a guideline. The company hasn't yet provided the documents Abbott is seeking, said spokesman Scott Stoffel. (Sutherland, 12/7)

Health care giant Abbott Laboratories said Wednesday that it has filed a lawsuit in an effort to terminate its $5.8 billion agreement to buy Waltham-based Alere Inc., saying the medical test developer has lost significant value since the deal was made public in February. In a statement, Abbott said Alere has “suffered a series of damaging business developments” that caused it to sour on the acquisition, including Medicare’s elimination of billing privileges for a major Alere division, Arriva Medical. (Weisman, 12/7)