Nearly $13B Deal
Nearly $13B Deal, Two pharmacy benefits managers are combining forces in an effort to negotiate better deals with pharmaceutical makers, a move that could in theory lead to lower drug prices for consumers.
A unit of the UnitedHealth Group said it had agreed to acquire the Catamaran Corporation in an all-cash deal worth nearly $13 billion, the companies announced on Monday.
UnitedHealth will pay $61.50 a share for Catamaran, a 27 percent premium over Friday’s closing price of $48.32 a share. It is the latest big acquisition in the health care industry, which is in the midst of a surge of deal activity. And it represents a further consolidation of the pharmacy benefits management business.Last month, Rite Aid, a big pharmacy chain, acquired Envision Pharmaceutical Services, for $2 billion in cash and stock.may take a close look at an increasingly concentrated industry.
But even as it consolidates, the business is growing, too. Managing pharmacy benefits is expected to quadruple to a $400 billion market in 2020, up from $100 billion last year.
Mark Thierer, Catamaran’s chairman and chief executive, will become chief executive of OptumRx, while Timothy Wicks, the current chief executive of OptumRx, will become president.
“Our board of directors carefully considered a variety of strategic options and unanimously concluded that this combination is clearly in the best interests of our shareholders,” Mr. Thierer said. “Together, we believe we will have the talent, scale, technology resources and innovative spirit.”
JPMorgan advised UnitedHealth, and Blackstone advised Catamaran.
A unit of the UnitedHealth Group said it had agreed to acquire the Catamaran Corporation in an all-cash deal worth nearly $13 billion, the companies announced on Monday.
UnitedHealth will pay $61.50 a share for Catamaran, a 27 percent premium over Friday’s closing price of $48.32 a share. It is the latest big acquisition in the health care industry, which is in the midst of a surge of deal activity. And it represents a further consolidation of the pharmacy benefits management business.Last month, Rite Aid, a big pharmacy chain, acquired Envision Pharmaceutical Services, for $2 billion in cash and stock.may take a close look at an increasingly concentrated industry.
But even as it consolidates, the business is growing, too. Managing pharmacy benefits is expected to quadruple to a $400 billion market in 2020, up from $100 billion last year.
Mark Thierer, Catamaran’s chairman and chief executive, will become chief executive of OptumRx, while Timothy Wicks, the current chief executive of OptumRx, will become president.
“Our board of directors carefully considered a variety of strategic options and unanimously concluded that this combination is clearly in the best interests of our shareholders,” Mr. Thierer said. “Together, we believe we will have the talent, scale, technology resources and innovative spirit.”
JPMorgan advised UnitedHealth, and Blackstone advised Catamaran.