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May 29 (Reuters) - Sterilisation services provider SynergyHealth Plc and U.S. medical tech company Steris Corp said they would contest the U.S. Federal TradeCommission's attempt to block Steris's acquisition of theBritish company.
The companies said they were confident the court wouldreject the FTC's request for an injunction blocking the merger.
"We are very disappointed by the FTC's decision to impedethis transaction and intend to vigorously challenge their claimsin court," Synergy Health Chief Executive Richard Steeves saidin a statement.
Synergy shares fell as much as 6.2 percent in early trading,making it the top loser on the FTSE-250 Midcap Index onFriday morning.
A number of "inversion" deals - which allow companies toescape higher taxes in the United States by reincorporatingabroad - have come undone in the past few months after the U.S.Treasury Department tightened rules.
Steris had offered to buy Synergy for about $1.9 billion inOctober, after the new rules were announced, in a deal thatwould allow the U.S.-based company to shift its domicile to theUK and cut its tax bill.
Steris said in a separate statement that the companies hadnot yet seen the FTC announcement or formal complaint, butwelcomed a full judicial review of the competitive effects ofthe combination.
"We have worked diligently to address the FTC's concerns andto avoid litigation, but we will now focus our efforts onprevailing in court," Steris CEO Walt Rosebrough said.
The deal has been hanging in the balance since the FTC beganreviewing it in October. The companies said in mid-January thatthe FTC had requested additional information and documentarymaterial related to the deal, effectively extending the initialdeal closing of March 31, 2015.
Synergy and Steris said on Friday that they planned toextend the completion date to Dec. 31.
Synergy shares were down 1.7 percent at 1861 pence at 0909GMT. The stock has lost more than 16 percent in the last threedays on doubts of the deal going through.
Steris shares have lost 4.3 percent during the same period.They closed at $66.15 on Thursday on the New York StockExchange. (Reporting by Roshni Menon in Bengaluru; Editing by AnupamaDwivedi)
