Two Hospital Suppliers To Merge
Becton Dickinson announced it is buying CareFusion for $12.2 billion. They will form the fifth largest medical supply company and hope to offer hospitals more options as they seek to lower costs.
The New York Times: Becton Dickinson To Acquire CareFusion For $12.2 Billion
Becton Dickinson & Company, a medical technology company, said on Sunday that it would acquire CareFusion, which provides products and services to hospitals, for $12.2 billion in cash and stock. The deal is the latest in a flurry of mergers and acquisitions in the health care industry. ... Combining BD and CareFusion will create one of the five largest medical device companies in the world, with a range of offerings for pharmacies and hospitals (Gelles, 10.5).
The Wall Street Journal: Becton Dickinson To Buy CareFusion For $12.2 Billion
Becton and CareFusion make products like catheters, tubes and pumps that hospitals use to deliver medicines to patients. The two companies also have been trying to help hospitals manage their drug use to eliminate waste and errors. By combining, the companies hope to be able to provide a fuller range of supplies, and also the tools medical facilities need to cope with health insurers, who are pressing them to curb spending and provide better, more cost-effective care (Rockoff and Mattioli, 10/5).
In addition, The New York Times examines mergers in the pharmaceutical industry --
The New York Times: A Scramble To Acquire For Drug Companies
A chain reaction of deal-making and acquisition talks is continuing to reshape the pharmaceutical industry, with a handful of big companies jostling to outmaneuver their competitors. The flurry of activity remains strong despite the Obama administration’s efforts to curb the tax-avoiding deals called inversions, which have driven many of the health care deals this year. And in an indication of how quickly talks are progressing, new deals are coming together as soon as others fall apart (Gelles, 10/3).