US drug distributor Cardinal Health to buy rival Kinray for $1.3 billion

Cardinal Health, a Fortune 500 Company and the second-biggest drug distributor in the US, today unveiled plans to buy smaller rival Kinray Inc, for $1.3 billion in cash to expand its business in the northeastern US.

With annual sales of more than $3.5 billion, Kinray is the largest privately-held distributor of pharmaceutical, generic, health and beauty, and home health care products in the world.

Based in New York, the company currently serves more than 2,000 retail independent pharmacy customers as a distributor of both branded and generic pharmaceuticals.

Dublin, Ohio-based Cardinal, currently ranked 17 on the Fortune 500 list, is a $96-billion health care services company that supplies pharmaceuticals and medical products to more than 60,000 locations in the US and Canada each day.

The company is also a leading manufacturer of medical and surgical products, including gloves, surgical apparel and fluid management products. In addition, the company is a supplier of medical products to clinical laboratories and operates the largest network of radio-pharmacies in the US that distribute products that aids early diagnosis and treatment of diseases.

This is the second big-ticket acquisition being made by Cardinal this year after it acquired Healthcare Solutions Holding, a health care management solutions company for $517 million in June. (See: US drug distributor Cardinal Health to buy Healthcare Solutions for $517 million)