Cardinal Health to buy Solaris Health for $1.9 billion, posts weak results
Shares of Ohio-based Cardinal fell nearly 6% after it also reported fourth-quarter revenue slightly below estimates, hurt by the loss of contracts with UnitedHealth Group's (UNH.N), opens new tab OptumRx, one of its largest customers.
The company is buying Solaris through its unit called The Specialty Alliance. Cardinal will own about 75% of the healthcare management unit after the acquisition.
The deal is worth about $2.4 billion in total including roughly $500 million in rollover equity from Solaris' physicians, as they chose to reinvest some of their equity into the new structure.
Cardinal's specialty business includes costly medicines to treat complex conditions such as cancer and rheumatoid arthritis, and the deal gives it access to a network of community urologists across more than 750 providers in 14 states.
Solaris provides administrative and management support services to healthcare providers in the urological field.
Drug distributors, including Cardinal and rival McKesson (MCK.N), opens new tab, have been acquiring community care operators to gain access to specialty care providers and diversify the high-margin business.
Cardinal struck a $1.12 billion deal last year to buy community cancer center operator Integrated Oncology Network to expand into cancer care.
The company also reported fourth-quarter revenue that remained flat year-over-year.
Its revenue of $60.16 billion came in shy of analysts' average estimate of $60.87 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Cardinal raised its 2026 profit forecast on Tuesday, betting on strong demand for costly specialty medicines and branded drugs.
It expects annual adjusted per-share profit of $9.30 to $9.50, compared with $9.10 to $9.30 forecast previously.
Adjusted profit per share of $2.08 narrowly beat estimates of $2.04.
Cardinal said it would buy Solaris from private equity firm Lee Equity Partners and the deal is expected to close by the end of the year. The company plans to finance the deal with a combination of cash on hand and new debt financing.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Finextra
a minute ago
- Finextra
OpenEden selects BNY as custodian for tokenized T-Bills fund
OpenEden, a leading platform for the tokenization of Real-World Assets ('RWAs'), today announced the appointment of certain affiliates of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation ('BNY') (NYSE: BK), a global financial services company, as investment manager and primary custodian for the underlying assets of its flagship Tokenized U.S. Treasury Bills ('$TBILL') Fund, the world's first tokenized U.S. Treasury fund to receive an investment grade 'A' rating from Moody's. 0 The strategic relationship highlights OpenEden and BNY's shared commitment to shaping the future of financial infrastructure by facilitating regulated and institutional-grade assets on chain for global investors. Launched in 2023, OpenEden's $TBILL provides investors with direct exposure to a pool of short-dated U.S. Treasury Bills ('U.S. T-Bills') and overnight reverse repurchase agreements through the minting of the TBILL token. $TBILL has seen rapid and accelerating adoption, indicating the surging demand from investors for regulated, institutional-grade on-chain cash management solutions. BNY Investments Dreyfus is one of the largest liquidity managers in the industry with more than five decades of proven expertise and will manage $TBILL Fund on OpenEden's behalf as sub-manager. As part of its mission to build the financial infrastructure for the future, BNY will also serve as the primary custodian for the underlying assets, leveraging its established infrastructure that administers US$55.8 trillion of assets and its proven track record providing asset servicing solutions that enable the digital assets ecosystem. 'OpenEden's collaboration with BNY marks a critical milestone in our mission to deliver secure, transparent, and institution-ready tokenized financial products,' said Jeremy Ng, Founder and CEO of OpenEden. 'Combining our tokenization platform with BNY's global scale and deep fiduciary expertise enables us to create a new standard for trust and access in the digital asset space.' 'BNY plays a critical role in the digital assets ecosystem, serving as a trusted bridge between traditional finance and emerging technology for clients,' said Jose Minaya, Global Head of BNY Investments and Wealth. 'We are excited to extend our time-tested liquidity investment management capabilities and asset safekeeping services to enable $TBILL and are proud to collaborate with OpenEden as we jointly aim to support the end-to-end lifecycle of tokenized assets.'
Finextra
a minute ago
- Finextra
Finu to acquire Everfex
The Directors of Fiinu plc (AIM: BANK) are pleased to announce that, further to the temporary suspension of trading announcement earlier today, the Company has now entered into the Acquisition Agreement for the proposed acquisition of Everfex P.S.A ("Everfex") ("Proposed Acquisition"), which constitutes a reverse takeover under AIM Rule 14. 0 In addition it has entered into the Introduction Agreement, Granicus Holdings Relationship Agreement, Lock in Agreements and certain new service agreements which include details of long-term incentive arrangements for the CEO and a proposed director. Fiinu has also entered into the Subscription Agreements in respect of the conditional subscription for 8,010,000 new ordinary shares at a price of 10p per share and received in aggregate £801,000 of subscription proceeds thereunder. Details of all these agreements, which are all conditional on Admission, will be included in the Admission Document, together with a Notice of a General Meeting which is to be convened to approve the Proposed Acquisition. Related Party Transaction The new service agreement and contract for services described in paragraph 8.1 of Part IX of the Admission Document and the long-term incentive arrangements with Dr Sjoblom, as referred to in paragraph 20 of Part I of the Admission Document, which are conditional on Admission, are related party transactions for the purposes of the AIM Rules. The Company's independent directors, being for this purpose all the Existing Directors other than Dr Sjoblom, having consulted with the Company's nominated adviser SPARK Advisory Partners Limited, consider that the terms of his new service agreement and that the long-term incentive arrangements are fair and reasonable insofar as the Company's shareholders are concerned. The Admission Document, Notice of General Meeting and Form of Proxy are expected to be published and posted to shareholders later today.
Finextra
a minute ago
- Finextra
PwC US to acquire Kunai
PwC US has signed a definitive agreement to acquire substantially all the assets of Kunai, a leading agile software consultancy specializing in AI, cloud-first web, mobile and infrastructure platforms for the financial services industry. 0 This proposed strategic acquisition aligns with PwC's commitment to helping clients reach the leading edge of their industries by combining deep expertise with powerful technology-driven and innovative solutions. The addition of Kunai's expertise enables PwC to scale existing offerings in the FS space, specifically strengthening its engineering capabilities into existing and new banking clients, to accelerate growth and provide critical capabilities. 'The acquisition of Kunai accelerates our strategy to lead in tech-enabled transformation within the Financial Services sector,' says Tyson Cornell, PwC US Advisory Leader. 'By acquiring Kunai, we're enhancing our ability to deliver engineering-led solutions that combine deep financial domain knowledge with agile, scalable technology. This move positions PwC to meet growing client demand for end-to-end transformation services—helping banks and financial institutions modernize core systems and embrace AI so they can unlock new value at speed and scale.' Founded in 2015, Kunai is an integrated team of world class product managers, software engineers, and designers with deep experience building for every major use case in fintech. Kunai's history of groundbreaking achievements and ingenuity makes them an ideal fit for PwC's growth strategy. 'Joining forces with PwC represents an exciting new chapter for Kunai,' says Sandeep Sood, CEO of Kunai. 'With access to PwC's extensive resources and global network, we're poised to accelerate innovation and amplify the impact we deliver to clients. Together, we'll be a stronger product-building strategic provider in financial technology—expanding our reach, deepening our offerings and driving smarter, faster solutions that help financial institutions thrive in a rapidly evolving digital economy.' This proposed acquisition comes at a time when PwC is helping clients across industries navigate intense business uncertainty. PwC's recent Value in Motion research report reveals that in 2025 alone, up to $7.1 trillion in revenue will be redistributed across the global economy as companies reinvent their business models. Organizations that adapt quickly to the uncertainty will be best positioned to capture new growth and stay ahead. Kunai's work with leading financial institutions and leading payment networks has allowed it to create solutions to many of the industry's biggest technological challenges. Kunai brings to PwC a number of core competencies, including: Mobile & Web Product Development AI & Automation Cloud Engineering Data Engineering Core Banking Systems The proposed acquisition builds on the firm's recent strategic acquisitions, demonstrating PwC's commitment to driving innovation and digital transformation both internally and for its clients. Previous acquisitions, such as Surfaceink, Sagence, Netrovert, ACTS, and EagleDream, have reinforced PwC's focus on engineering, scalable solutions, advanced analytics, enhanced collaboration, and connectivity. The proposed acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions. The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
