By Sneha S K
Oct 6 (Reuters) – Drug distributor McKesson and private equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice on Tuesday agreed to take infusion therapy provider Option Care Health private in a deal worth about $5.8 billion including debt.
The per-share offer price of $32.05 represents a 37.1% premium to Option Care’s last closing price. Its shares were up 32.8% at $31.03.
The deal is the latest for the US drug distributor as it seeks to expand its healthcare services footprint, and marks another private equity buyout of a home health services provider after Enhabit.
Option Care Health is the largest independent infusion therapy provider in the US, serving more than 308,000 patients annually through over 197 locations to provide services such as home and ambulatory infusions, specialty pharmacy and care for complex conditions.
McKesson’s focus on specialty and the community setting makes this deal appealing, allowing it to leverage supply chain efficiencies and work with Option Care Health in complex chronic drugs, said J.P.Morgan analyst Lisa Gill.
There has been growing demand for home‑based care in the US, as the population ages and more patients choose to receive treatment outside higher-cost settings like hospitals.
According to the terms of the deal, McKesson will invest about $1.4 billion for a 49% minority interest, holding the right to purchase the remaining 51% from CD&R at some point in the future. Option Care Health will remain a separate company led by its own management team.
The transaction aligns McKesson with the site-of-care shift away from hospital and provider settings, said Leerink Partners analyst Michael Cherny in a note late on Monday.
The deal would also expand McKesson’s US footprint in home infusion services as it currently operates Inviva, a leading infusion network in Canada.
McKesson’s oncology and multispecialty segment that includes infusion services recorded revenue of $14.2 billion in the latest quarter, a rise of 33% from a year earlier.
The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2027, and Option Care Health will become a privately held company.
(Reporting by Sneha S K in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
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