March 30--UnitedHealth Group said Monday that it will acquire Schaumburg-based pharmacy benefit manager Catamaran for about $12.8 billion in cash.
UnitedHealth said it will buy Catamaran's outstanding stock for $61.50 per share, a 27 percent premium over Friday's closing price of $48.32.
The deal will combine Catamaran with UnitedHealth's pharmacy benefit management arm OptumRx. It still needs Catamaran shareholder and regulatory approval and is expected to close in the fourth quarter. Catamaran's Chief Executive Mark Thierer will become CEO of OptumRx after the transaction is done. Timothy Wicks, current CEO of OptumRx, will become president. Catamaran's executive vice president of operations will become chief operating officer at the combined company and OptumRx's chief financial officer will continue in his role.
Pharmacy benefit managers are third-party administrators of prescription drug programs, in charge of processing, negotiating and paying drug claims. The combined company will add enhanced services for customers and fill more than 1 billion prescriptions annually.
Both companies said they "have distinctive, rapidly growing specialty pharmacy services businesses," a market they estimate to grow from $100 billion to $400 billion by 2020.
Catamaran alone fills 1 out of every 5 prescription claims in the U.S. on behalf of 35 million people. Last year Catamaran had $21.58 billion in sales, while OptumRx had $31.98 billion.
The acquisition should add 30 cents to UnitedHealth's earnings per share in 2016.
ehirst@tribpub.com
