Labcorp said on Thursday that it has agreed to acquire select assets of BioReference Health, the laboratory testing subsidiary of OPKO Health, in a deal that could be worth about $872 million. In its press release, Labcorp said the price is $722 million in cash at closing, adjusted up or down for closing business revenue, plus up to $150 million more depending on revenue from the 4Kscore Test.
The assets are the clinical and women's health testing businesses, the urology business and the corrections laboratory business, together with certain operational assets, more than 80 patient service centers and the 4Kscore Test, the company said. Labcorp expects the acquired businesses to generate about $250 million in revenue in the first year after closing, based on its own post-closing forecasts.
The price against the revenue
By this publication's arithmetic, $722 million against $250 million of expected revenue is about 2.9 times, or about 3.5 times if the full $150 million earnout is paid. The revenue figure is Labcorp's forecast of what it will earn, not a number OPKO has reported for the business, and the release gives no earnings or margin figure. So it is not possible, from the documents, to say what the price is as a multiple of profit.
The earnout is attached to a single product. The release describes the 4Kscore Test as "an FDA-approved blood test that helps predict the likelihood of finding aggressive prostate cancer before a biopsy decision." It does not say how much revenue the test brings in today, so the size of the earnout relative to current sales cannot be judged from the documents.
What each side says
Bryan Vaughn, Labcorp's executive vice president and president of diagnostics, said in the release: "This acquisition strengthens our ability to deliver affordable, high-quality, specialized diagnostic services." Labcorp also said the deal should widen its specialty menu, patient service network and digital capabilities for patients and physicians.
Phillip Frost, M.D., OPKO's chairman and chief executive, gave the seller's reason: "This transaction will allow OPKO to streamline operations and focus our resources on our biopharmaceutical business."
That is a change of direction for OPKO. Our reading is that the sale leaves the parent smaller and more dependent on its drug business; OPKO has not described it that way beyond Frost's statement. It is also not the first sale to the same buyer. In September 2025 Labcorp completed the purchase of BioReference's oncology and related clinical testing businesses for up to $225 million, $192.5 million at closing and up to $32.5 million in performance-based earnouts, according to Clinical Lab Products. That deal followed an earlier Labcorp purchase of BioReference diagnostics assets. Thursday's agreement continues a sale of the business in pieces, to one buyer.
What the market did
OPKO closed on Wednesday at $1.37, up 3.79 per cent. Before the market opened on Thursday the shares were at $1.67, up 21.9 per cent, RTTNews reported. Some of that early gain faded once regular trading began: at about 3:15 p.m. Eastern the stock was at $1.56, up about 14 per cent from Wednesday's close, according to StockAnalysis quote data. Percentage moves reported during the day vary for that reason; the close was not available when this story was published. The shares have traded between $0.98 and $1.75 over the past year, RTTNews said.
The reaction suggests investors welcomed the sale; it says nothing yet about what the buyer will make of it.
What is not known
Neither company has given a closing date, and the release says only that the deal is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. Until it closes, the companies say they will operate independently and make no changes to operations or services. The release does not describe financing beyond the all-cash price, does not say what happens to BioReference employees or to the patient service centers, and does not say which assets are left with OPKO.
The thing to watch is the regulatory review and whether a closing date is set; neither company has said what the review will examine. The 4Kscore earnout will take longer to settle: OPKO will be paid only if the test sells.
Sources
- Labcorp, "Labcorp Enters into Agreement with OPKO Health to Acquire Select Assets of BioReference Health", PR Newswire, 15 October 2026: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/labcorp-enters-into-agreement-with-opko-health-to-acquire-select-assets-of-bioreference-health-302909289.html
- Clinical Lab Products, 16 September 2025: https://clpmag.com/lab-management/company-news/labcorp-acquires-bioreference-healths-oncology-testing-assets-225-million/
- StockAnalysis, OPKO Health quote, 15 October 2026: https://stockanalysis.com/stocks/opk
- RTTNews, 15 October 2026: https://www.rttnews.com/3699430/labcorp-to-acquire-select-biorefernce-assets-from-opko-in-deal-worth-up-to-872-million-stock-up.aspx
Terms, assets, the revenue expectation, the description of the 4Kscore Test, conditions and the quotes from Bryan Vaughn and Phillip Frost come from the Labcorp press release of 15 October 2026 on PR Newswire, which we read. The 2025 oncology deal terms come from Clinical Lab Products (16 September 2025). OPKO's Wednesday close and Thursday premarket price come from RTTNews; the mid-afternoon price is from StockAnalysis quote data at 3:13 p.m. Eastern; the day's close was not available at publication. The price-to-revenue multiples are this publication's arithmetic on Labcorp's forecast, not figures either company published. The analysis is our own.
