Burlington, N.C.-based diagnostics company LabCorp will buy Chiltern, a Wilmington, N.C.-based contract research organization, for about $1.2 billion in cash.
Here are four things to know.
1. Chiltern will become part of LabCorp's Covance arm when the transaction is complete. LabCorp bought Princeton, N.J.-based medical and pharmaceutical research company Covance for $6.2 billion in cash and stock in February 2015.
2. CEO of Covance John Ratliff said the addition of Chiltern creates a 20,000-member global contract research organization with 11,100 U.S. employees.
3. LabCorp anticipates funding the transaction through bank financing and bonds.
4. The deal is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions, with a projected closing date in the fourth quarter of 2017.