McKesson, private equity firm buy home infusion company, Option Care Health

McKesson Corportion, one of the “big 3” drug wholesalers, announced today that it was teaming up with a private equity firm to acquire the country’s largest independent home infusion company in a deal valued at $5.8 billion.

The acquisition of the infusion business, Option Care Health, comes as some lawmakers, healthcare policy experts and executives in other sectors of U.S. healthcare are starting to scrutinize and criticize the three giant drug wholesalers — Cencora and Cardinal Health along with McKesson — in ways reminiscent of how once-obscure pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), came under sharp criticism for their opaque business practices and market power.

The PBMs, in particular, seem eager to put drug wholesalers in the hot seat.

“Continued integration within the drug supply chain underscores the need for transparency up and down the supply chain,” said Robyn Crosson, J.D., vice president of government relations at Navitus Health Solutions, a pharmacy benefit manager, in an email to Managed Healthcare Executive. “As care delivery models evolve, stakeholders need a clear view of costs, incentives and value throughout the entire prescription-drug journey.”

The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, the trade association representing larger PBMs, reposted a Health Affairs Insider piece in August by Joey Mattingly, Ph.D., an associate professor at the University of Utah College of Pharmacy, in which Mattingly said the problem with drug wholesalers was concentration (“three firms, little competitive check”) and opacity (“the terms that set a pharmacy’s real acquisition cost, the generic discounts, the sourcing-program requirements, and the off-invoice adjustments, are confidential”), the very words used in the criticism of the large PBMs.

Today’s new release says that Clayton Dubilier & Rice, also known as CD&R, and McKesson have entered into an agreement to acquire Option Care Health for $32.05 per share, which was $8.68 more per share than what the company’s stock was trading at the close of trading on Monday. The news release says the total enterprise deal of the acquisition was $5.8 billion.

CD&R is taking a majority stake of 51% in the infusion company, and McKesson is investing $1.4 billion for a minority stake of 49%, according to the news release, which was issued by McKesson. The deal includes a framework that will be for McKesson’s eventual acquisition of CD&R’s stake in the company subject to “specified conditions and regulatory approval.”

“This investment represents an important opportunity that aligns with McKesson’s long-term strategy to expand access and affordability to innovative therapies across the care continuum,” Brian Tyler, chair and chief executive of McKesson, said in the news release.

Option Care Health, which is headquartered in suburban Chicago, has 8,000 employees, including 5,000 clinicians, and operates in all 50 states. According to a timeline on the company’s website, it was acquired by Walgreens in 2007, was spun out of Walgreens in 2015, and acquired BioScrip in 2019. The news release says that once the deal is finalized, Option Care Health’s stock will no longer be listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange, and Option Care Health will be a private company.

The large, publicly traded healthcare companies also have infusion businesses. UnitedHealth Group’s Optum healthcare services division operates Optum Infusion Pharmacy. CVS Health’s infusion business is called Coram.

Drug wholesalers’ acquisitions

McKesson, Cencora and Cardinal have been branching out from their core wholesale drug business for over a decade. Most of their expansion has been into oncology and eye care.

McKesson developed The US Oncology Network in the early 2010s. The company completed its acquisition of CoverMyMeds, an electronic prior authorization company, in 2017. In 2025, McKesson bought an 80% stake in PRISM Vision Holdings, an ophthalmology and retina management services company.

Cencora, which changed its name from AmerisourceBergen in 2023, acquired an 85% share of Retina Consultants of America in 2025 for $4.4 billion. The company finalized its full acquisition of OneOncology, a network of 2,300 cancer specialists in December 2025.

Some of Cardinal’s recent acquisitions include Solaris Health, an urology management services company; Strive Medical, a multispecialty supply provider with a focus on urology; Advanced Diabetes Supply Group, a diabetes equipment supplier; and GI Alliance, a gastroenterology management services organization.