Premier Inc. to Acquire Specialty Pharmacy Business from Lincare Holdings
Premier Inc. (NASDAQ: PINC), a leading healthcare improvement company, has agreed to acquire the national specialty pharmacy business of Lincare Holdings Inc., headquartered in Clearwater, Fla. The $75 million acquisition includes Acro Pharmaceutical Services LLC and Community Pharmacy Services, LLC. Premier expects to fund the transaction with available cash or borrowings under its existing credit facility.
Lincare has disclosed that its specialty pharmacy business generated approximately $206 million in 2015 revenue. The transaction, projected to close by or before Sept. 30, is expected to be accretive to earnings in fiscal 2017. Click here for supplemental information regarding this transaction.
“This acquisition will expand and diversify both our special pharmacy patient base and disease treatments,” said Durral R. Gilbert, president of Premier’s supply chain services segment. “The purchase will give us access to limited distribution drugs used for the treatment of oncology, multiple sclerosis and respiratory disease, and it will heighten our preferred specialty status with multiple payers. In addition, the acquisition will enable us to serve the growing needs of Medicaid patients in Arkansas and Mississippi, thanks to Acro’s locations in Philadelphia and Memphis Tenn.”
Specialty pharmacy, one of the fastest growing segments in healthcare, focuses on the long-term treatment of chronically ill patients, including those who suffer from cancer, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, hepatitis C and hemophilia. These patients require complex, costly therapies with special handling, administration and monitoring, as well as patient education and clinical management. Current trends suggest that specialty drug spending will total $400 billion by 2020, or about 9.1 percent of national health spending, according to the UnitedHealth Center for Health Reform.
“Premier is continuing to differentiate itself as we expand and integrate our specialty pharmacy services, providing more scale for our health system focused model,” said Susan DeVore, president and chief executive officer of Premier. “This comprehensive shared service approach enhances a health system’s ability to thrive in today’s alternative payment and care delivery environment. It decreases the growing challenges of specialty drug access and costs, and lessens the complexity of administering and caring for chronically ill patients.”
Acro operates in 50 states, while Community Pharmacy Services serves a 340B drug program in the Greater Philadelphia area. The companies will be integrated into Premier’s existing specialty pharmacy business as part of Premier’s supply chain services segment.
About Premier Inc.
Premier Inc. (NASDAQ: PINC) is a leading healthcare improvement company, uniting an alliance of approximately 3,600 U.S. hospitals and 120,000 other providers to transform healthcare. With integrated data and analytics, collaboratives, supply chain solutions, and advisory and other services, Premier enables better care and outcomes at a lower cost. Premier, a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient, plays a critical role in the rapidly evolving healthcare industry, collaborating with members to co-develop long-term innovations that reinvent and improve the way care is delivered to patients nationwide. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Premier is passionate about transforming American healthcare. Please visit Premier’s news and investor sites on www.premierinc.com; as well as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, Foursquare and Premier’s blog for more information about the company.
About Lincare Holdings Inc.
Lincare Holdings Inc., headquartered in Clearwater, Florida, is the nation’s largest provider of oxygen and other respiratory therapy services to patients in the home. The company provides services and equipment, operating from approximately 1,000 locations in 48 U.S. states and Canada, and employs approximately 13,000 people. For more information, see Lincare Holdings Inc. online at lincare.com.
Forward-looking statements
Matters discussed in this release and the supplemental information that are not statements of historical or current facts such as those related to Premier’s ability to provide enhanced capabilities, products and services; growth opportunities and specialty drug market growth; expected synergies; the timing and amount of any accretion or financial contributions, if any, from the acquisition; the expected closing date; and future operations and integration matters are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Premier to be materially different from historical results or from any future results or projections expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on any forward looking statements. In addition to statements that explicitly describe such risks and uncertainties, readers are urged to consider statements in the conditional or future tenses or that include terms such as “believes,” “belief,” “expects,” “estimates,” “intends,” “anticipates” or “plans” to be uncertain and forward-looking. Forward-looking statements may include comments as to Premier’s beliefs and expectations as to future events and trends affecting its business and are necessarily subject to uncertainties, many of which are outside Premier’s control. More information on potential factors that could affect Premier’s financial results is included from time to time in the “Forward Looking Statements,” “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” sections of Premier’s periodic and current filings with the SEC and available on Premier’s website at investors.premierinc.com. Forward looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Premier undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise that occur after that date.
INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACT:
Jim Storey
Vice President, Investor Relations, Premier Inc.
704.816.5958
Jim_Storey@Premierinc.com
MEDIA CONTACT:
Amanda Forster
Vice President, Public Relations, Premier Inc.
202.879.8004
Amanda_Forster@Premierinc.com