(Bloomberg) -- Several publicly traded drug distributors are vying to buy Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute, a privately held operator of oncology clinics, people familiar with the matter said.
McKesson Corp., Cencora Inc. and Cardinal Health Inc. are among firms that have offered to acquire the company, according to the people.
Florida Cancer Specialists may be valued at more than $3 billion in a deal, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. The company has been working with a financial adviser as it fields interest and explores a possible sale, they said.
Any deal is still several weeks away and Florida Cancer Specialists could ultimately decide to remain independent, according to the people.
Representatives for Florida Cancer Specialists, Cardinal Health and McKesson declined to comment, while a spokesperson for Cencora, previously known as AmerisourceBergen, didn’t immediately provide comment.
Founded about 40 years ago, Florida Cancer Specialists has more than 250 physicians, 280 nurse practitioners and physician assistants and about 100 locations in its network, its website shows.
The Fort Myers, Florida-based company calls itself a leader in “value-based oncology care,” in which a provider takes on some or all of the cost of treating a patient in exchange for a lump sum from a health-care payer like the government. The setup is meant to lower health-care costs by incentivizing a provider to efficiently treat patients. That’s in contrast to the typical US model, where a provider gets paid for each test or office visit.
Drug distributors have been expanding to offer services in and around cancer care, in part to strengthen distribution of specialty drugs. Cencora last year teamed up with TPG Inc. to buy OneOncology, adding a network of cancer specialists, and McKesson bought US Oncology Inc. in a $2.2 billion deal including debt in 2010.
--With assistance from Gillian Tan.
(Updates with McKesson response in fifth paragraph.)
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