Apria buys Coram

LAKE FOREST, Calif. - Apria signed a deal to buy infusion giant Coram for $350 million, the companies announced Oct. 15. The cash deal adds 65,000 new customers to Apria's home infusion business and provides another entry point into the growing specialty pharmacy market. Combined, the two companies will serve more than 100,000 patients annually through a network that includes more than 50 ambulatory infusion suites and 1,100 clinicians. Apria, which has more than $1.5 billion in revenues, expects Coram to generate $500 million in revenues in 2008. The companies expect the deal to close in November.