Cardinal Health Completes Acquisition Of AssuraMed, Leading Direct-To-Home Medical Supplies Distributor

-- Enables Cardinal Health to serve the growing population of aging and chronically ill as care moves increasingly to the home

-- Expands Cardinal Health's ability to deliver cost-effective solutions across the continuum of care, broadening product portfolio and scale

News provided by

Cardinal Health

Mar 18, 2013, 04:05 ET

DUBLIN, Ohio, March 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Cardinal Health today announced it has enhanced its ability to serve the growing population of aging and chronically ill patients by completing its $2.07 billion acquisition of privately held AssuraMed, a leading provider of medical supplies to patients in the home.

"We are very excited to welcome the AssuraMed team to the Cardinal Health organization," said George Barrett, chairman and chief executive officer of Cardinal Health. "The acquisition of this industry leader allows us to serve the growing number of Americans treated in home settings – particularly those patients recovering from acute episodes and those suffering with chronic diseases. This is a key platform opportunity for Cardinal Health products and services, which will be increasingly important as the delivery of care continues to move to more cost-effective settings."

All members of the AssuraMed management team have joined Cardinal Health, and the business will continue to be led by Michael B. Petras Jr. as president, AssuraMed. Financial results of AssuraMed will be reported as part of the Medical segment.

With proforma annual sales in calendar year 2012 of approximately $1 billion, AssuraMed currently serves more than 1 million patients nationally with more than 30,000 products. The company will continue to operate through two separate businesses: Edgepark, a mail-order, direct-to-home provider of disposable medical supplies, and Independence Medical, a wholesale medical supplies distributor providing services to home health agencies, providers, retailers, and home medical equipment customers. The base of the company's operations will remain in Twinsburg, Ohio.

In addition to broadening Cardinal Heath's reach into the home, AssuraMed's products for patients with chronic diseases and small parcel logistics significantly enhances Cardinal Health's ability to service customers across the broad ambulatory care channel, including care sites such as physician offices and in support of home health agencies. The AssuraMed purchase allows Cardinal Health to provide a more comprehensive solution for integrated delivery networks, retail pharmacies and medical equipment providers who are currently delivering services to patients in home settings. AssuraMed creates additional value for patients through its medical billing expertise via a broad array of relationships with commercial and government payors.

The acquisition was financed with a combination of $1.3 billion in new senior unsecured notes and cash.

For the press release announcing Cardinal Health's intention to acquire AssuraMed and detailed advantages of, and facts regarding the transaction go to http://cardinalhealth.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=536

About Cardinal Health
Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE: CAH) is a $108 billion health care services company that improves the cost-effectiveness of health care. As the business behind health care, Cardinal Health helps pharmacies, hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers and physician offices focus on patient care while reducing costs, enhancing efficiency and improving quality. Cardinal Health is an essential link in the health care supply chain, providing pharmaceuticals and medical products to more than 60,000 locations each day. The company is also a leading manufacturer of medical and surgical products, including gloves, surgical apparel and fluid management products. In addition, the company supports the growing diagnostic industry by supplying medical products to clinical laboratories and operating the nation's largest network of radiopharmacies that dispense products to aid in the early diagnosis and treatment of disease. Ranked #21 on the Fortune 500, Cardinal Health employs more than 30,000 people worldwide. More information about the company may be found at cardinalhealth.com and @CardinalHealth on Twitter.

Cautions Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements addressing expectations, prospects, estimates and other matters that are dependent upon future events or developments. These statements may be identified by words such as "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "will," "should," "could," "would," "project," "continue," "likely," and similar expressions. These matters are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, anticipated or implied. These risks and uncertainties include the ability to retain customers and employees of the acquired business and to successfully integrate the acquired business into our operations; the ability to achieve the expected benefits from the acquisition, including the expected accretion in earnings. Cardinal Health is subject to additional risks and uncertainties described in Cardinal Health's Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and Form 8-K reports and exhibits to those reports. This news release reflects management's views as of March 18, 2013. Except to the extent required by applicable law, Cardinal Health undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward looking statement.

SOURCE Cardinal Health