Laboratory Corp., which runs more than 1,500 clinical test labs, will buy a genetic testing company in a cash deal valued nearly $1 billion.

Burlington-based LabCorp will buy the Genzyme Genetics business unit from Genzyme Corp., based in Cambridge, Mass.

As part of the $925 million acquisition, LabCorp agreed to offer jobs to Genzyme Genetics' 1,900 employees, including senior managers, and not cut their salaries or bonuses for one year.

"It's not cheap, this was not a fire sale, there were a lot of people who are interested in this asset," LabCorp CEO David King told Wall Street analysts during a conference this morning. "But at the end of the day we feel that we paid a very fair price for a premier laboratory testing asset that will fit very weill into our business."

LabCorp, a Burlington-based medical testing company, is joining forces with Duke University to develop new treatments for various diseases.

The Biomarker Factory joint venture will seek to commercialize new tools that can help improve treatments for heart disease, cancer and other ailments.

By using so-called biomarkers, researchers hope to identify how a patient will respond to a specific therapy, to predict disease progression and more.

"“The Biomarker Factory will contribute greatly to the realization of the promise of individualized medicine and will assist physicians in understanding how to use newly developed biomarkers to improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs,” said LabCorp CEO David King, in a prepared statement.

A Burlington-based medical-testing company that employs about 1,000 people in the Triangle could be an acquisition target.

Shares of LabCorp jumped today on speculation that the company may be bought, Jefferies Group analyst Arthur Henderson told Bloomberg News.

LabCorp reported in a regulatory filing this morning that it altered its change-of-control provisions to eliminate additional severance pay to senior executives for excise taxes from payments related to a takeover.

That filing fueled speculation about a leveraged buyout, Henderson told Bloomberg. “These rumors have been building up for a couple of weeks,” Henderson said.

LabCorp shares rose $2.35 today to close at $79.33. The stock is up 27 percent in the past year.

Shares of larger rival Quest Diagnostics also jumped on buyout speculation, rising $1.60 to $59.86.

LabCorp, which employs about 28,000 people worldwide, announced last month that it will add 346 jobs in Greensboro as it consolidates billing operations from across the country. The company's operations include a massive genetics-testing facility in Research Triangle Park.

Medical-testing company LabCorp will add 346 jobs in the Greensboro as it consolidates billing operations from across the country.

The Burlington-based company could receive nearly $1 million in tax incentives from the state, Guilford County and Greensboro, if it meets hiring and investment milestones.

LabCorp officials also had considered expansion in Danville, Va. The company is trying to cut its billing costs as the recession has weakened demand for medical, drug and genetic testing.

Medical-testing company LabCorp is expected to announce this afternoon that it has chosen Greensboro for an expansion that will add hundreds of jobs in the Triad.

The Burlington-based company has previously said it wants to consolidate its billing operations from across the country into a central location. LabCorp officials considered sites in Greensboro and Danville, Va.

Gov. Bev Perdue's office has scheduled an "economic development announcement that will bring hundreds of jobs to Guilford County" for 2 p.m. at 531 S. Spring St., Burlington. That's LabCorp's corporate headquarters.

A small Durham company developing tests for personalized cancer therapy has raised $10.5 million in financing.

CancerGuide Diagnostics was founded in 2006 and is run by CEO Myla Lai-Goldman, the former chief medical officer at Burlington-based medical testing giant LabCorp.

LabCorp contributed to CancerGuide's financing, along with local venture capital firms Hatteras Venture Partners and Intersouth Partners.

LabCorp also agreed to work with CancerGuide on developing and commercializing new cancer tests that will help doctors determine early on what treatments will have the best results for particular patients.

"There is a tremendous need for diagnostic tools to optimize the management of the disease and take full advantage of available therapeutic options,” Lai-Goldman said in a prepared statement.

Medical-testing testing company LabCorp wants to consolidate its billing operations and could receive nearly $900,000 in taxpayer incentives if it chooses a site in Greensboro.

The Burlington-based company is reportedly considering moving its billing operations from 24 sites across the country to one location in Greensboro or in Danville, Va. The move would bring 373 jobs to Greensboro.

On Thursday, Guilford County commissioners approved giving the company $248,791. Greensboro also is offering $373,000. And the state would contribute a $275,000 grant, Dan Lynch, president of the Greensboro Economic Development Alliance told the Greensboro News-Record.

The jobs would pay about $27,000 a year. LabCorp employs about 28,000 workers worldwide, including more than 1,000 in the Triangle.

BetterInvesting Magazine likes LabCorp.

The magazine's committee of financial analysts chose LabCorp as its "Stock to Study" for November "because of its potential for growth in higher-margin specialized testing."

LabCorp is one of the world's largest medical-testing companies. The Burlington-based company employs more than 25,000, including about 1,000 in the Triangle. The company is expected to benefit from an aging population that will require more complex medical tests.

Its stock, while down 4 percent in the past year, has climbed 32 percent since early March. LabCorp shares closed Friday at $70.46, down 29 cents.

BetterInvesting is published by the National Association of Investors Corp., a nonprofit for individual investors and investment clubs. The group emphasizes that its stock selections are for "the informational and educational uses of investors and are not intended as investment recommendations."

LabCorp, of of the country’s largest medical-testing companies, announced this morning that it is buying a publicly traded California company that specializes in tests for infectious diseases and cancer.

Burlington-based LabCorp will pay about $155 million for Monogram Biosciences. The acquisition will expand LabCorp’s presence in the expanding market for so-called personalized medicine, where treatments and medical tests are geared for specific patients.

For example, Monogram’s tests help identify patients who are likely to respond to a certain type of HIV drugs.

“By utilizing LabCorp’s national infrastructure to build on Monogram’s already strong sales, we will advance our leadership in infectious disease and cancer testing, companion diagnostics and personalized medicine,” said David P. King, CEO of LabCorp.

The company employs about 1,000 in the Triangle and 25,000 worldwide. It has expanded to become the largest employer in Burlington, about an hour west of Raleigh.