Texas company makes winning bid for Health Diagnostic Laboratory

Published September 11, 2015 by Robert Powell, III

A Texas health diagnostics company has been named the successful bidder for Richmond-based Health Diagnostic Laboratory Inc., with an offer of $37.1 million.

True Health Diagnostics LLC, based in Frisco, Texas, had earlier agreed to be the “stalking horse bidder” in a court-supervised auction for HDL, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy court protection in June.

Under the agreement, True Health was to make an opening bid of $32 million to set a floor price for the auction. The Texas company raised its bid by $5.1 million during the auction process, which took place at the Richmond offices of law firm Hunton & Williams, HDL’s restructuring counsel.

“The auction was robust and competitive, and we believe our objective of maximizing the value of the assets of HDL Inc. to best serve the interests of our creditors and other stakeholders has been achieved,” Douglas Sbertoli, HDL's  executive vice president and general counsel,  said in a statement.

The sale of HDL still is subject to final approval by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin R. Huennekens, who has set a Sept. 16 hearing.

If approved, the deal is expected to be completed by the end of the month.

“HDL’s culture of innovation and scientific excellence and commitment to compliance with healthcare regulatory requirements aligns perfectly with ours,” Chris Grottenthaler, the CEO of True Health, said in a statement.

Richmond-based HDL filed for 11 bankruptcy protection after reaching a $47 million settlement with the Justice Department over the company’s now discontinued practice of paying doctors a $20 fee processing and handling fee for each blood sample it received. The company admitted no wrongdoing in agreeing to the settlement.

True Health, a privately held company, specializes in advanced clinical laboratory testing, designed to help health-care providers in diagnosing, managing and preventing a number of medical conditions.

HDL President and CEO Joseph McConnell described True Health as “a young, fast-growing, and highly regarded company.”