AmerisourceBergen to Add $2.0 Billion Pharmaceutical Distribution
Business
VALLEY FORGE, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 1,
2007--AmerisourceBergen Corporation (NYSE:ABC) today acquired Bellco
Health, a privately held distributor of branded and generic
pharmaceuticals, for a revised purchase price of approximately $190
million in cash. AmerisourceBergen expects this acquisition will be
neutral to diluted earnings per share for fiscal year 2008 and
approximately $0.05 accretive to diluted earnings per share in fiscal
year 2009.
AmerisourceBergen President and Chief Executive Officer R. David
Yost said, "Bellco is a great strategic fit and is a perfect example
of our acquisition strategy, which focuses on adding complementary
companies in the pharmaceutical supply channel."
Headquartered in North Amityville, New York, Bellco Health has
annualized revenues of approximately $2.0 billion and is a major
pharmaceutical distributor in the Metro New York City Area, where it
primarily services independent retail community pharmacies.
Nationally, the Company markets and sells generic pharmaceuticals to
individual retail pharmacies, and provides pharmaceutical products and
services to dialysis clinics.
When AmerisourceBergen first announced the proposed acquisition in
March 2007, the purchase price was estimated to be $235 million. The
price was decreased due to a now resolved regulatory issue and other
business matters.
AmerisourceBergen said its diluted earnings per share from
continuing operations expectations for fiscal year 2007 remain
unchanged in a range of $2.50 to $2.58, including a net benefit of
$0.05 from special items. This range reflects the spin off of its
institutional pharmacy business, which becomes a discontinued
operation for the full year. The Company also remains optimistic about
fiscal year 2008 and expects its performance to be in line with its
long-term financial goals.
About AmerisourceBergen
AmerisourceBergen is one of the world's largest pharmaceutical
services companies serving the United States, Canada and selected
global markets. Servicing both pharmaceutical manufacturers and
healthcare providers in the pharmaceutical supply channel, the Company
provides drug distribution and related services designed to reduce
costs and improve patient outcomes. AmerisourceBergen's service
solutions range from pharmacy automation and pharmaceutical packaging
to reimbursement and pharmaceutical consulting services. With more
than $64 billion in annual revenue, AmerisourceBergen is headquartered
in Valley Forge, PA, and employs more than 11,500 people.
AmerisourceBergen is ranked #29 on the Fortune 500 list. For more
information, go to www.amerisourcebergen.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This news release may contain certain "forward-looking statements"
within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements
are based on management's current expectations and are subject to
uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Actual results may vary
materially from the expectations contained in the forward-looking
statements. The following factors, among others, could cause actual
results to differ materially from those described in any
forward-looking statements: competitive pressures; the loss of one or
more key customer or supplier relationships; customer defaults or
insolvencies; changes in customer mix; supplier defaults or
insolvencies; changes in pharmaceutical manufacturers' pricing and
distribution policies or practices; adverse resolution of any contract
or other disputes with customers (including departments and agencies
of the U.S. Government) or suppliers; regulatory changes (including
increased government regulation of the pharmaceutical supply channel);
government enforcement initiatives (including (i) the imposition of
increased obligations upon pharmaceutical distributors to detect and
prevent suspicious orders of controlled substances (ii) the
commencement of further administrative actions by the U. S. Drug
Enforcement Administration seeking to suspend or revoke the license of
any of the Company's distribution facilities to distribute controlled
substances, or (iii) the commencement of any enforcement actions by
any U.S. Attorney alleging violation of laws and regulations regarding
diversion of controlled substances and suspicious order monitoring);
changes in U.S. government policies (including reimbursement changes
arising from federal legislation, including the Medicare Modernization
Act and the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005); changes in regulatory or
clinical medical guidelines and/or reimbursement practices for the
pharmaceuticals we distribute; price inflation in branded
pharmaceuticals and price deflation in generics; the inability of the
Company to successfully complete any transaction that the Company may
wish to pursue from time to time; fluctuations in market interest
rates; operational or control issues arising from the Company's
outsourcing of information technology activities; success of
integration, restructuring or systems initiatives; fluctuations in the
U.S. dollar - Canadian dollar exchange rate and other foreign exchange
rates; economic, business, competitive and/or regulatory developments
in Canada, the United Kingdom and elsewhere outside of the United
States; acquisition of businesses that do not perform as we expect or
that are difficult for us to integrate or control; changes in tax
legislation or adverse resolution of challenges to our tax positions;
and other economic, business, competitive, legal, tax, regulatory
and/or operational factors affecting the business of the Company
generally. Certain additional factors that management believes could
cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from those
described in forward-looking statements are set forth (i) in Item 1A
(Risk Factors) in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
fiscal year ended September 30, 2006 and elsewhere in that report and
(ii) in other reports filed by the Company pursuant to the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934.
CONTACT: AmerisourceBergen Corporation
Michael N. Kilpatric, 610-727-7118
[email protected]
or
Barbara Brungess, 610-727-7199
[email protected]
SOURCE: AmerisourceBergen Corporation