Alere, the US life sciences firm, has urged the shareholders of Dundee-based diagnostics firm Axis-Shield to accept its offer which sent the latter's share price soaring in July.

Alere announced late on Thursday that it believes that its 460p-a-share offer - made on 6 July which values Axis-Shield at £230m - "represents a compelling value proposition with a high degree of certainty".

Following Axis-Shield's rejection of the offer in July, the company released a statement on Monday reaffirming its recommendation to shareholders, saying it was "low and opportunistic".

However, Alere said that since the announcement of a possible offer was made in July, Axis-Shield's share price has remained elevated due to the offer and has not traded on underlying fundamentals, as its key industry peers have fallen around 21% in the recent market volatility.

As such, Alere thinks that the 37% premium to the closing price on 5 July (the day before the first announcement of a possible offer) is still a significant premium.

"In contrast with the value certainty provided by the offer, Axis-Shield Shareholders are being asked to put their faith in possible future value creation by management based on the successful execution of a strategy that has significant execution, regulatory and market risk and uncertainty," Alere said.

By 11:48 on Friday, shares were 1.85% lower at 450p.

BC

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