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UnitedHealth Group acquires Catamaran for $12.8 billion

UnitedHealth Group’s announcement that its free-standing pharmacy care services business, OptumRx, will merge with Catamaran Corp., the fourth largest pharmacy benefit manager in the U.S., makes sense, according to industry experts.

UnitedHealth Group’s announcement that its free-standing pharmacy care services business, OptumRx, will merge with Catamaran Corp., the fourth largest pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) in the U.S., makes sense, according to industry experts.

UnitedHealth Group  plans to acquire  Catamaran for about $12.8 billion in cash, the Wall Street Journal reported.

“This is a smart acquisition well aligned with UnitedHealth’s strategy-increasing their market power, adding to their suite of technology and benefit management offerings, further diversifying their non-risk business, and better positioning them for the rapidly changing post-ACA delivery system and specialty pharmacy market,” says Kip Piper, MA, FACHE, advisor with Sellers Dorsey , a Medicaid consultancy in Washington, D.C.  “It will increase their already formidable leverage in pharma, biotech, and pharmacy price negotiations. UnitedHealth will no doubt take advantage of the wealth of data, IT savvy, and diverse client base Catamaran brings to the deal.”

This merger is consistent with the types of consolidation being seen within the industry, according to Robert Taketomo, PharmD, MBA, president and CEO, Ventegra .

“However, it remains to be seen in this particular case how the desired efficiencies from scale will impact the ability to adapt to a healthcare environment in flux, and how potential channel conflict with health plan clients will be addressed,” Taketomo says.

The agreement calls for the acquisition of Catamaran’s outstanding common stock for $61.50 per share in cash. The transaction is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2015, subject to Catamaran shareholders’ approval, regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. The combination diversifies OptumRx’s customer and business mix, while accelerating its technology leadership and flexible service offerings.

NEXT: Purchase details

The acquisition is expected to be accretive to UnitedHealth Group’s net earnings in the area of $0.30 per share in 2016. UnitedHealth Group plans to finance the acquisition from existing cash resources and new debt. The company affirmed its $6.00 to $6.25 per share earnings outlook assuming the absorption of all merger costs, the ongoing commitment to advance its dividend policy as planned, and a continued but moderated level of share repurchase.

“It is generally acknowledged that most such takeovers result in a transfer of wealth or value from the acquirer's shareholders to the seller's shareholders. As such, it is a good deal for Catamaran,” says Mark O. Dietrich, CPA/ABV, cpa.net , a certified public accounting firm specializing in healthcare valuation, and author of “The Financial Professional's Guide to Healthcare Reform.” “Initial reaction in the market, however, was positive for United with its share price increasing, so perhaps this deal will be an exception.

“Pharmacy costs represent a significant portion of healthcare spending in the United States, reportedly rising 12% last year, and cost control is critical,” Dietrich adds. “The pharmacy chain CVS controls one large PBM, while its competitor Walgreens sold its PBM. At least from a standard view of economics, it would appear to make more sense to have PBMs under insurer control rather than the control of the industry they attempt to manage the costs of.”

This combination is expected to create a dynamic competitor in the PBM market by combining the strengths of Catamaran’s industry-leading technology platform with the data and analytics capabilities of Optum. The combined company is expected to deliver an innovative and compelling consumer and payer services offering that will link demographic, lab, pharmaceutical, behavioral and medical treatment data to engage individuals to make better decisions as they seek the best, most effective care and improve compliance with pharmaceutical use and care protocols.

Given the business imperatives of post-Affordable Care Act policy and market environment, super low cost of capital, large corporate cash reserves, the increasing power of data and technology, and intense pressures on pricing and cost efficiency, the industry can expect more M&A activity in many segments of healthcare, according to Piper. 

“The marketplace is ripe for further vertical and horizontal consolidations in the drug supply chain and beyond,” Piper says.

“Consolidation leads to fewer choices for the users of PBMs, which of course include managed care executives,” Dietrich says. “Pharmacy costs and formularies are one element of a managed care plan's product design and may contain features regarded as competing with other managed care plans. For plans presently using, for example, United's OptumRx, a competing plan may be using Catamaran. Now, both competing managed care plans would be serviced by the same PBM.”

NEXT: OptumRx's approach

OptumRx’s advanced Clinical Synchronization approach connects pharmacy and care management systems, processes and teams to create deeper insights for higher quality, more consistent and compliant patient outcomes and savings for individuals and plan sponsors. Synchronization presents the entire patient health profile, rather than discrete pieces of an individual’s profile – a distinctive and critically important capability given the growth in U.S. spending on specialty pharmaceuticals.

Catamaran offers retail pharmacy network management, mail service pharmacy, pharmacy claims management and patient-centric specialty pharmacy services to a broad client portfolio, including health plans and employers, as well as healthcare information technology solutions to the industry. In 2015 Catamaran expects to fulfill more than 400 million prescriptions which, combined with OptumRx’s roughly 600 million annual scripts, will enable the combined entity to be a competitive force in the PBM industry. Enhanced purchasing and administrative improvements from the combination are expected to drive substantial value, with the majority of savings expected to directly benefit clients and individuals through reduced costs for prescriptions and enhanced pharmaceutical services.

Both companies have distinctive, rapidly growing specialty pharmacy services businesses. The combined organization will help customers manage the complex costs and outcomes as this portion of the pharmaceutical market expands from an estimated $100 billion in revenues in 2014 to potentially $400 billion annually by 2020.

“With pharmaceutical costs rising rapidly and the increasing prevalence of expensive specialty drugs targeting rare conditions, pharmacy costs are likely to represent an increasing share of healthcare spending in the future,” Dietrich says. “The PBM companies that control access to millions of insureds will play a critical role in determining pricing and insurance premiums.”

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UnitedHealth Group to Buy Catamaran in $12.8 Billion Pharmacy Benefits Deal

By David Gelles

• March 30, 2015

Two pharmacy benefits managers are combining forces in an effort to negotiate better deals with pharmaceutical makers, a move that could in theory lead to lower drug prices for consumers.

A unit of the UnitedHealth Group said it had agreed to acquire the Catamaran Corporation in an all-cash deal worth nearly $13 billion, the companies announced on Monday.

UnitedHealth will pay $61.50 a share for Catamaran, a 27 percent premium over Friday’s closing price of $48.32 a share. It is the latest big acquisition in the health care industry, which is in the midst of a surge of deal activity. And it represents a further consolidation of the pharmacy benefits management business.

Last month, Rite Aid, a big pharmacy chain, acquired Envision Pharmaceutical Services , for $2 billion in cash and stock.

Catamaran, which is based in Schaumburg, Ill., will be combined with UnitedHealth’s pharmacy services business, OptumRx. Catamaran manages more than 400 million prescriptions each year on behalf of 35 million people — or about one in every five prescription claims in the United States.

The combined company will face off against other big pharmacy benefits managers, including Express Scripts and CVS Caremark.

“We believe this combination will create significant value for health plan, government, third-party administrator and employer customers and, most importantly, the individual consumers who depend on us for accurate, affordable and convenient pharmacy benefit products and services,” Larry Renfro, chief executive of Optum, said in a statement.

UnitedHealth said the deal would add 30 cents a share to its net earnings in 2016. UnitedHealth plans to finance the acquisition from existing cash resources and new debt.

The deal is subject to approval by Catamaran’s shareholders and regulators, who may take a close look at an increasingly concentrated industry.

But even as it consolidates, the business is growing, too. Managing pharmacy benefits is expected to quadruple to a $400 billion market in 2020, up from $100 billion last year.

Mark Thierer, Catamaran’s chairman and chief executive, will become chief executive of OptumRx, while Timothy Wicks, the current chief executive of OptumRx, will become president.

“Our board of directors carefully considered a variety of strategic options and unanimously concluded that this combination is clearly in the best interests of our shareholders,” Mr. Thierer said. “Together, we believe we will have the talent, scale, technology resources and innovative spirit.”

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UnitedHealth Group Inc to buy Catamaran Corp for $12.8 billion to boost pharmacy services

UnitedHealth Group Inc, America's largest health insurer, is staking a bigger claim in pharmacy benefits management with a plan to buy Catamaran Corp., its biggest purchase ever

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UnitedHealth Group Inc.’s OptumRx agreed to buy Catamaran Corp., a provider of pharmacy benefit management services, for about US$12.8 billion in the company’s largest purchase ever, to add clients and improve its technology.

UnitedHealth will pay US$61.50 a share in cash, financing the acquisition with existing cash and new debt, the companies said in a statement. That’s 27% more than Schaumburg, Illinois-based Catamaran’s closing share price of US$48.32 on Friday.

UnitedHealth Group Inc to buy Catamaran Corp for $12.8 billion to boost pharmacy services Back to video

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“The combination diversifies OptumRx’s customer and business mix, while accelerating its technology leadership and flexible service offerings,” the companies said. Catamaran adds an “industry-leading technology platform” to OptumRx’s capabilities in data and analytics, they said.

OptumRx and Catamaran offer specialty pharmacy services, an industry with about US$100 billion in annual revenue that may quadruple by 2020, the companies said. Catamaran manages more than 400 million prescriptions a year for 35 million members, while OptumRx manages prescription drug benefits for commercial and governmental health plans and works through a network of about 66,000 community pharmacies and mail-order pharmacies.

“The combination of the two companies will create a unique offering in the industry unparalleled by current participants,” Larry Renfro, CEO of OptumRx, said in the statement.

Mark Thierer, Catamaran’s chairman and chief executive officer, will become CEO of OptumRx, and Timothy Wicks, the current CEO, will become president, according to the statement. The purchase is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2015, and will add about 30 U.S. cents to UnitedHealth’s earnings per share in 2016, the companies said. Bloomberg.com

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UnitedHealth buys pharmacy-benefit manager Catamaran for $12.8B

UnitedHealth beefs up drug benefits role with Catamaran acquisition.

By Joe Carlson

The nation's largest health insurer, Minnetonka's United­Health Group Inc., will have more clout to push back against high drug prices with a $12.8 billion merger announced Monday.

UnitedHealth is acquiring Schaumberg, Ill.-based Catamaran Corp. in a move to gain control over how more than 1 billion prescriptions per year are dispensed. UnitedHealth's OptumRx unit was already the third-largest player in the nearly $300 billion business of managing prescription-drug benefits for Americans.

"It's a good thing for the consumer," said Leerink Partners health care analyst Ana Gupte. "We've had a lot of [drug] price issues, even beyond the wave of specialty drugs. Even within the existing brandeds and generics, the unit-price increases have been fairly significant."

Analysts and investors cheered the merger news because drug costs are a large and growing share of overall health care spending. Huge pharmacy-benefit management companies have fought against sky-high drug prices, and that battle is likely to become much more intense with the launch of a new generation of cancer drugs carrying six-figure price tags.

Pharmacy benefit managers, known in the industry as PBMs, are in the business of managing the pharmaceutical side of an insurance plan, including deciding which drugs are covered and what pharmacies or mail-order services beneficiaries use to get them. The companies can also be a potent force to negotiate bulk discounts on drugs, as was evident last year with pressure to lower costs for a $90,000 hepatitis C medication.

The PBM industry has risen rapidly since the creation of Medicare's prescription drug benefit in 2003, and now handles the management of about 4.4 billion prescriptions annually. But the industry has seen rapid corporate consolidation, especially following passage of the Affordable Care Act.

"We view the transaction as a positive for [UnitedHealth] as it cements Optum's position as a top player" in the PBM industry, Wells Fargo senior analyst Peter Costa wrote in a note to investors Monday.

By adding No. 4 player Catamaran, UnitedHealth's OptumRx will control 23 percent of the market, up from 14 percent. That puts it on par with the industry's biggest player, Express Scripts, which controls 30 percent of the market, and CVS/caremark's 25 percent share, according to Deutsche Bank analysts. The next-biggest company has 8 percent.

IBISWorld, which studies the industry, estimates that the $287 billion PBM market is on pace for 4.3 percent annual growth through 2020. "Growth prospects for PBMs are strong," the firm's report on the industry earlier this month said. "The 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will expand prescription drug coverage over the next five years, which will help bolster prescription drug use and industry revenue as a result."

Investors approve

UnitedHealth on Monday agreed to pay Catamaran shareholders $61.50 per share, a 27 percent premium over Friday's closing price. The deal is expected to add 30 cents per share to UnitedHealth's earnings in 2016, following an expected closing at the end of 2015, pending shareholder and regulatory approvals.

Investors applauded the deal, sending shares of both companies higher. Catamaran stock jumped 24 percent on the news, and UnitedHealth Group gained 2.5 percent, closing at $121.

OptumRx had revenue of about $32 billion last year, while Catamaran had revenue of $21.6 billion.

UnitedHealth executives declined an interview request, but Optum's chief executive Larry Renfro said in a statement that the combination of the two companies would create "a unique offering in the industry unparalleled by current participants."

UnitedHealth Group is principally known for being the nation's largest health insurer, and its OptumRx business differentiates itself in the market by being able to inform its decisionmaking by analyzing claims on 114 million commercial and Medicare-covered beneficiaries. Catamaran, meanwhile, is known for its advanced technology platforms.

The combination is expected to allow company analysts to study patients' demographic, lab, pharmaceutical, behavioral and medical treatment data in new ways to improve medical decisionmaking and let patients better follow doctors' orders, the companies said in a statement.

Possible fallout

Stock analysts said the deal gives OptumRx a welcome ability to broaden its base beyond UnitedHealth Group customers. But it wasn't clear whether a good-sized chunk of Catamaran's business would flee with the deal. Health insurer Cigna is one of Catamaran's larger customers, but its managed-care business competes with UnitedHealth.

Costa's analysis noted that Cigna may try to pull out of its Catamaran deal, although Leerink's Gupta had a different take after talking with Cigna officials.

"They don't seem to show any concern or any interest in cleaving from Catamaran as a result of this," she said. "As long as they can share in some of the better economics from scale, they would be happy to stay with them."

Mark Thierer, Catamaran's chairman and chief executive, will become CEO of the combined OptumRx and Catamaran. Timothy Wicks, the current chief executive of OptumRx, will become president.

UnitedHealth Group is the state's largest publicly traded corporation by revenue. It reported revenue of $130.5 billion in 2014. In 2013, its revenue exceeded that of Target and Best Buy combined, according to the most recent Star Tribune 100 analysis of the state's top companies.

Joe Carlson • 612-673-4779

Twitter: @_JoeCarlson

about the writer

Joe carlson.

Joe Carlson writes about medical technology in Minnesota for the Star Tribune.

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UnitedHealth Group to acquire Catamaran in a $12.8 billion deal

Health insurer UnitedHealth Group Inc. has announced that it has reached an agreement to purchase Catamaran Corp in a deal worth about $12.8 billion to promote its pharmacy benefit management, as it competes with bigger rivals such as Express Scripts Holdings Co.

As part of the deal, Catamaran, the fourth largest pharmacy benefit manager in the U.S., will be integrated into UnitedHealth Group’s OptumRx unit, the industry’s third-largest player and part of the Optum health-services arm of the health-care giant.

Pharmacy-benefit management companies like Catamaran administer drug benefits, working with employers and insurers to negotiate prescription drugs at a lower rate from pharmaceutical groups and pharmacists. They also maintain a patients list of covered drugs, handle mail orders or complex treatments and often oversee patients’ drug use.

As employers seek to reduce prescription costs on high price drugs, the deal with Catamaran will give UnitedHealth’s pharmacy benefits unit, OptumRx, the scale to arbitrate fair prices from pharmacy companies.

In 2014, U.S. drug prices surged 12 percent as a result of a new treatment for hepatitis C that cost more than $80,000 but cured almost all beneficiaries with few side effects. Another new class of drugs, to cure high cholesterol, is expected to be launched in 2015 and has insurers worried about drug costs this year as well.

On Monday, UnitedHealth offered to pay $61.50 per share of Catamaran, a 27% premium over Friday’s closing price of $48.32. UnitedHealth plans to fund the deal from existing cash reserves and new debt. The all-cash deal, which is subject to Catamaran shareholders’ approval is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2015.

Schaumburg, Ill.-based Catamaran’s stock price surged 24 percent on Monday, while Minnetonka, Minn, based UnitedHealth Group’s shares rose by more than 2 percent.

The deal could even force other health mergers and acquisitions between Express Scripts the country’s largest PBM, and Walgreens Boots Alliance, the nation’s largest drugstore chain.

CVS also owns one of the nation’s biggest pharmacy chains, while Envision RX, a small pharmacy benefit manager, recently announced plans to be acquired by national drug store chain Rite Aid.

Pharmacy companies are able to use scale to negotiate reasonable prices. Previously, Express Scripts was able to procure a huge discount for a crucial hepatitis C drug from AbbVie Inc., and has said it will use its size to gain discounts for cholesterol drugs and cancer drugs in the future.

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UnitedHealth Group, Catamaran plan $12.8B deal

Health insurer UnitedHealth Group has agreed to combine OptumRx, its free-standing pharmacy care services business, with Catamaran Corp., a pharmacy benefit management company based in Schaumburg, Ill.

Under the agreement, UnitedHealth Group will acquire Catamaran's outstanding common stock for $61.50 per share in cash. The deal is worth about $12.8 billion, according to Reuters .

The organizations anticipate the combination will create a dynamic competitor in the pharmacy benefit management market by combining the strengths of Catamaran's technology platform with the data and analytics capabilities of Optum, according to a news release.

"The combined company is expected to deliver an innovative and compelling consumer and payer services offering that will link demographic, lab, pharmaceutical, behavioral and medical treatment data to engage individuals to make better decisions as they seek the best, most effective care and improve compliance with pharmaceutical use and care protocols," the organizations said in the joint release.

The transaction is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2015, subject to Catamaran shareholders' approval, regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

Upon closing, Mark Thierer, Catamaran's chairman and CEO, will serve as CEO of OptumRx. Timothy Wicks, the current CEO of OptumRx, will become president of OptumRx . Jeff Park, who currently serves Catamaran as executive vice president of operations, will become the COO for OptumRx. Jeffrey Grosklags, currently the CFO of OptumRx, will continue in that role.

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UnitedHealth to buy pharmacy benefit firm Catamaran for $12.8 billion

By Sneha Banerjee (Reuters) - Health insurer UnitedHealth Group Inc agreed to buy Catamaran Corp in a deal worth about $12.8 billion (8.65 billion pounds) to boost its pharmacy benefit business as it competes with bigger rivals such as Express Scripts Holdings Co . Pharmacy benefit managers (PBM) administer drug benefits for employers and health plans and run large mail order pharmacies, helping them get better prices from drugmakers. As employers look to cut prescription costs on expensive drugs, the deal with Catamaran will give UnitedHealth's pharmacy benefits unit, OptumRx, the scale to negotiate favourable prices from pharmacy companies. U.S. drug prices rose 12 percent in 2014 due to a new treatment for hepatitis C that cost more than $80,000 but cured almost all recipients with few side effects. Another new class of drugs, to treat high cholesterol, is expected to hit the market in 2015 and has insurers worried about drug costs this year as well. The purchase of Catamaran will increase UnitedHealth's market share to 15 percent to 20 percent of the people who receive their drug benefits through pharmacy benefit managers, BMO Capital Markets analyst Jennifer Lynch said in a research note. With a combined 1 billion scripts annually, UnitedHealth will be about the same size as current industry number two, CVS Health Corp , she added. Catamaran was formed after SXC Health Solutions and PBM Catalyst Health Solutions merged in 2012. UnitedHealth's offer of $61.50 per share represents a premium of 27 percent to Catamaran's Friday close on the Nasdaq. Catamaran's stock was trading at $60.01 premarket on Monday, while UnitedHealth was up nearly 4 percent. The deal "makes sense to us, but admittedly came much earlier than we expected," Jefferies analyst Brian Tanquilut said in a research note. "We had always viewed Catamaran as a compelling asset for companies looking for scale in the PBM sector such as Optum or Walgreens but expected Catamaran to grow the business much further before pursuing a sale." He added that the offer seemed adequate and he did not expect competing bids at this point. The deal value is based on Illinois-based Catamaran's total diluted shares outstanding as of Dec. 31. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2015 and add about 30 cents per share to UnitedHealth's profit in 2016, the companies said. Catamaran Chief Executive Officer Mark Thierer will be CEO of OptumRx and OptumRx CEO Timothy Wicks will become president. (Additional reporting by Caroline Humer in New York; Editing by Savio D'Souza, Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Meredith Mazzilli)

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M&A Deal Summary

Optumrx acquires catamaran, on march 30, 2015, optumrx acquired healthcare services company catamaran for 12.8b usd, acquisition highlights.

• This is OptumRx’s 1st transaction in the Healthcare Services sector.
• This is OptumRx’s largest (disclosed) transaction.
• This is OptumRx’s 1st transaction in the United States.
• This is OptumRx’s 1st transaction in Illinois.

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Behind Optum's physician acquisition strategy

UnitedHealth Group's Optum, parent company of ASC chain SCA Health, is on a spending spree, scooping up physician groups and expanding its portfolio. 

The company is now affiliated with more than 70,000 physicians, making it the largest employer of physicians in the country. 

Most recently, Optum snagged Middletown, N.Y.-based Crystal Run Healthcare, a multispecialty physician group with more than 400 providers. It also acquired Houston-based Kelsey-Seybold for $3 billion, Dallas-based Healthcare Associates of Texas for $300 million and Auburndale, Mass.-based Atrius Health for $236 million in the last year.

The company is also looking to partner with health systems. In January, 1,400 office-based employees at Brewer, Maine-based Northern Light Health were transferred to Optum.

"A lot of these health systems are looking for a new relationship or they're wondering, 'How do I make sure I'm staying an independent health system and continuing to deliver the best clinical care that I can?'" Mike Valli, president of Optum's Northeast Region, told Becker's . "Over the past specifically five to six years, we've been aggregating a ton of assets that can help enable the administrative functions of these systems. The idea behind these relationships is, really, how do we bring everything Optum has to offer for a provider system to them in one relationship?"

On the ASC side, SCA Health has expanded past surgery center management into specialty care. In May, Surgical Care Affiliates rebranded to SCA Health and updated its logo to symbolize growth momentum and added a tagline: "The future of specialty care."

"When I joined the organization in 2015, we were an ambulatory surgery center company singularly focused on partnering with surgeons in their ASCs," Caitlin Zulla, CEO of Optum Health's east region and former CEO of SCA Health, told Becker's last year. "Since then, we've evolved to support physician specialists more holistically across the specialty care continuum."

With this shift, Optum and SCA Health are looking at growth not just through number of ASCs, "but the quality of care we provide, the proportion of spend in value-based care arrangements, our increased connectivity to practices and health systems, and additional ancillary services that support specialists' independence," Ms. Zulla said. 

This strategy is different from other ASC giants such as Dallas-based United Surgical Partners International, Tenet Healthcare's ASC arm. 

USPI is the company's "gem for the future," Tenet CEO Saum Sutaria, MD, said last year, and the company continues to rely on ASCs rather than physicians to carry the company's growth. USPI said it will pump $250 million into ASC mergers and acquisitions and plans to have more than 600 ASCs by 2025.

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