McKesson to Pay $1.23 Billion for Per-Se

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McKesson to buy Per-Se for $1.23 billion [Reuters]

Summary: San Francisco-based drug distributor McKesson will acquire Per-Se Technologies for $1.23 billion. Per-Se markets health administration software to hospitals, physicians, and pharmacies. The acquisition will expand McKesson's technological capabilities and customer base. McKesson will be paying $28 per share in cash, a premium of 14.5% over Friday's closing price of $24.45. McKesson will also assume the software company's outstanding debt. The news perked up both companies' shares on Monday: Per-Se's shares rose $3.05 to $27.50 on the Nasdaq and McKesson's rose 55 cents to $49.07 on the NYSE. Analyst sentiment is in favor of the acquisition, stating a preference for McKesson's acquisition of a strong software platform, rather than developing one on their own.
Related links: Fitch: McKesson's 'BBB+' Rating Not Affected by Acquisition [Business Wire] • McKesson to Purchase Per-Se For $1.1 Billion, Adding Clients [WSJ]
Potentially impacted stocks and ETFs: McKesson (MCK), Per-Se Technologies (PSTI) • Competitors: Amerisourcebergen Corp (ABC), Cardinal Health Inc. (CAH) • ETFs: iShares Dow Jones U.S. Healthcare Index (IYH), Healthcare Select Sector SPDR (XLV)

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