Optum buys specialty pharmacy for $300M
OptumRx, the pharmacy care services business of UnitedHealth Group’s Optum, is acquiring a specialty pharmacy and infusion services provider, Diplomat.
Diplomat provides services in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., and partners with payers, providers, hospitals, manufacturers and more. The company is based in Flint, Mich., and treats patients with complex conditions with specialty medications, such as oncology and immunology. In addition, Diplomat provides specialized infusion therapies across care settings.
OptumRx is part of Optum, the prescription drug business of UnitedHealth Group, which operates the nation’s largest health insurance provider, UnitedHealthcare. OptumRx includes a national network of 67,000 community pharmacies. The combination of the two companies will help improve care and lower drug prices, according to the announcement.
The financial terms of the deal include a $4 share price for Diplomat’s outstanding common stock via a cash tender offer and assumption of outstanding debt. That represents a big discount from the company’s share price earlier this month, when shares were trading at nearly $6. The deal comes out to about $300 million in a cash price plus more than $560 million in dent, Forbes reported.
“With its focus in specialty and infusion services, Diplomat has a proven track record of solving the unique challenges facing patients with complex health care needs,” John Prince, CEO of OptumRx, said in a statement. “This combination will expand the innovative specialty pharmacy and infusion solutions OptumRx can offer to the consumers and clients we serve, helping ensure people get the right medications and services at the right time, in the right setting.”
The transaction has already been unanimously approved by the board of directors of Diplomat, according to the announcement. Diplomat Co-founder and Chairman Emeritus Philip R. Hagerman, RPh, and other persons and entities affiliated with him own about 23% of the outstanding stock of Diplomat, and all have agreed to sell their shares as part of the offer.
“Since co-founding the company in 1975 with my father, I have had the honor of helping to transform Diplomat into a specialty pharmacy services leader,” Hagerman said in a statement. “This combination will create significant value for Diplomat’s specialty pharmacy consumers and clients, and I look forward to the combined companies’ future success.”
Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."