Abbott Said to Near Deal for Cologuard Maker Exact Sciences (3)

Abbott Laboratories is nearing a potential acquisition of cancer screening company Exact Sciences Corp., people familiar with the matter said, in what could be the biggest deal of the year in the global health-care sector.

The US medical-device maker is discussing the terms of a transaction with Madison, Wisconsin-based Exact Sciences, according to the people. A deal may be announced in the coming days, they said.

Shares in Exact Sciences fell as much as 2.8% in premarket trading on Thursday. They had closed 24% higher on Wednesday in the biggest one-day gain in over a year, giving the company ...