News

Posted On: 01/25/2007

Cardinal Health Selling Off Pharma Technologies Unit for $3.3 Billion

PharmaManufacturing.com

Cardinal Health, a leading provider of products and services supporting the health care industry, announced Jan. 25 that it has reached an agreement to sell its Pharmaceutical Technologies and Services (PTS) segment to The Blackstone Group for approximately $3.3 billion in cash.

Cardinal Health and Blackstone have signed a definitive agreement for Blackstone to acquire the PTS businesses that develop, manufacture and package medication and other products for pharmaceutical and biotech firms, employ approximately 10,000 at more than 30 facilities worldwide and generate approximately $1.8 billion in annual revenue. Cardinal Health announced on Nov. 30, 2006, that it planned to divest the segment to focus resources on its four remaining segments serving health care provider customers, such as hospitals and pharmacies.

Cardinal Health will retain Martindale and Beckloff Associates, two businesses that support the generic pharmaceutical market. Martindale develops generic, intravenous medicine that is complementary to Cardinal Health’s hospital business and generics strategy. Beckloff provides pharmaceutical regulatory consulting, including services for Cardinal Health generic products. Combined, these businesses have approximately 400 employees at two primary locations in the United States and United Kingdom.

PTS develops and manufactures oral and sterile medication in nearly all dosage forms, and holds patents for softgel and fast-dissolve technologies used in many popular prescription and over-the-counter medicines. The segment is also the largest contract packager of pharmaceuticals.