Cardinal Health buys Viasys
By HME News Staff
Updated Sun May 20, 2007
CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. - Cardinal Health plans to pay $1.54 billion in cash and debt for Viasys Healthcare, the company announced May 14.
Under the terms of the deal, the Dublin, Ohio-based Cardinal will assume $50 million in Viasys' debt. Shares of Viasys shot up 37% on the news, closing at $43.18
"Viasys is a company we have been actively watching for some time, so we were ready to act when the opportunity presented itself just a few weeks ago," Cardinal CEO R. Kerry Clark said in a conference call with analysts.
The move will broaden Cardinal's product offerings and strengthen its international business, said the company.
Cardinal is an $81 billion pharmaceutical company. The company has two segments it says will mesh well with Viasys: a $2.4 billion division of DME and a $1.6 billion medical products manufacturing arm that sells disposables like gloves and masks.
Viasys has 2,400 employees and generated $610 million in revenue in 2006, led by its ventilators and respiratory products. Some job cuts are planned.
The deal is expected to close June 30.
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