Clayton Dubilier & Rice and McKesson agreed on October 6 to take Option Care Health private in a transaction worth about $5.8 billion including debt. The $32.05-per-share offer represents a 37.1 percent premium to Option Care’s last closing price, and shares rose 32.8 percent to $31.03 on the announcement, Reuters reported.
Under the terms, CD&R will hold a majority ownership interest and McKesson a minority stake of 49 percent, for which the drug distributor is investing about $1.4 billion. McKesson will hold the right to buy the remaining 51 percent from CD&R at a future point. Option Care will remain a separate company under its own management team. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2027.
Option Care Health is the largest independent infusion therapy provider in the United States, serving more than 308,000 patients a year through more than 197 locations, offering home and ambulatory infusions, specialty pharmacy and care for complex conditions. The Financial Times first reported on October 5 that the two parties were nearing a deal valued at more than $5 billion including debt, sending the shares up 21 percent in extended trading that evening.
The deal fits McKesson’s push beyond distribution into higher-growth healthcare services. In August it agreed to buy Precision Medicine Group for about $2.25 billion, and its oncology and multispecialty segment, which includes infusion services, posted $14.2 billion in quarterly revenue, up 33 percent year on year. McKesson already runs Inviva, a leading infusion network in Canada, and analysts noted the acquisition extends its reach into home and alternate-site care in the United States. Reuters also framed the deal as another private-equity buyout of a home health services provider, following Enhabit.