Country for PR: United States
Contributor: PR Newswire New York
Saturday, March 13 2021 - 03:42
AsiaNet
Cardinal Health signs definitive agreement to sell its Cordis business to Hellman & Friedman
DUBLIN, Ohio, March 13, 2021 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --

Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH) today announced that it has signed a definitive 
agreement to sell its Cordis business to Hellman & Friedman (H&F) for 
approximately $1 billion, which includes buyer's assumption of certain 
liabilities and seller's retention of certain working capital accounts. The 
transaction is expected to close in the first half of Cardinal Health's fiscal 
year 2022, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory clearances.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/640263/Cardinal_Health_Logo.jpg  

"Cordis has a long history of innovation in minimally-invasive cardiovascular 
technology, and we are confident that with H&F as its owner, Cordis will be 
well-positioned for growth, innovation and success," said Mike Kaufmann, CEO of 
Cardinal Health. "Cardinal Health and H&F have a shared passion for delivering 
high-quality medical products to customers and we are excited about the future 
for the Cordis business under H&F's ownership."

"Our decision to divest Cordis demonstrates our disciplined approach to 
evaluating our portfolio and focusing our resources in our strategic growth 
areas where we are an advantaged owner," Kaufmann continued. "Looking forward, 
we remain committed to our medical distribution and global medical products 
businesses." 

"Cordis is an excellent fit with our philosophy of investing in great 
businesses as a market-leading cardiovascular device manufacturer known for 
high-quality products, strong physician satisfaction and superb patient 
outcomes," said Hunter Philbrick, Partner at H&F. "We are excited to invest in 
the talented Cordis, Ajax and Zeus teams to drive industry leadership, 
therapeutic innovation and improved patient experiences." 

"We at Ajax Health and Zeus Health are ecstatic about injecting growth into 
Cordis' powerful platform, and will do so through investments in the core 
business and through an independent R&D engine – the 'Cordis Accelerator' – to 
develop and commercialize a new pipeline of products exclusively for Cordis," 
said Duke Rohlen, CEO of Ajax Health and Zeus Health, partners to H&F in the 
transaction, and Executive Chairman-designate of Cordis and CEO of Cordis 
Accelerator. "We see an unparalleled opportunity to partner with both existing 
Cordis leadership and H&F to combine a best-in-class innovation engine with a 
strong and robust commercial chassis. Together, we will establish Cordis as the 
standard bearer for medical device innovation."

After closing, most assets and liabilities associated with the Cordis business 
will transfer to H&F. Cardinal Health will retain full authority for lawsuits 
related to inferior vena cava filters in the United States and Canada, as well 
as liability associated with these matters. Cardinal Health estimates that, 
after completion of the transition services agreement, the divestiture of the 
Cordis business will decrease Medical segment profit by approximately $60 
million to $70 million on an annual run-rate basis.

In connection with the entry into this definitive agreement, Cardinal Health 
will classify the Cordis business as held for sale, which Cardinal Health 
expects to result in a pre-tax loss of up to $120 million in the third quarter 
of its fiscal year 2021. Additionally, Cardinal Health was authorized to incur 
costs associated with the planned divestiture of up to $125 million, primarily 
in its fiscal years 2021 and 2022. 

Advisors
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC is serving as exclusive financial advisor to 
Cardinal Health and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP served as the 
company's legal advisor. UBS Investment Bank served as the sole financial 
advisor to Hellman & Friedman, with Kirkland & Ellis LLP providing the firm's 
legal counsel and H&F's committed financing for the transaction provided by 
Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and UBS Securities LLC.

About Cardinal Health 
Cardinal Health is a distributor of pharmaceuticals, a global manufacturer and 
distributor of medical and laboratory products, and a provider of performance 
and data solutions for health care facilities. With 50 years in business, 
operations in more than 40 countries and approximately 48,000 employees 
globally, Cardinal Health is essential to care. Information about Cardinal 
Health is available at cardinalhealth.com. ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3095245-1&h=1599249135&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cardinalhealth.com%2F&a=cardinalhealth.com 
)

About Hellman & Friedman
Hellman & Friedman is a preeminent global private equity firm with a 
distinctive approach focused on investments in high-quality growth businesses. 
H&F seeks to partner with world-class management teams where its deep sector 
expertise, long-term orientation, and collaborative partnership approach enable 
companies to flourish. Since its founding in 1984, H&F has raised over $50 
billion of committed capital, invested in over 90 companies, and is currently 
investing its ninth fund, with $16.5 billion of committed capital. Learn more 
about H&F's defining investment philosophy and approach to sustainable outcomes 
at www.hf.com.

About Ajax Health
Ajax Health seeks to identify, support and scale disruptive technologies in the 
healthcare space. Taking an active operating role, the Ajax team has a proven 
track record of helping companies of all sizes, stages and structures achieve 
their value-creation goals. Ajax Health is headquartered in Menlo Park, Calif. 
and backed by an investor group led by HealthQuest Capital along with Polaris 
Partners and Aisling Capital. Learn more about Ajax at www.ajaxhealth.com.

About Zeus Health
Zeus Health is a platform formed by leading global investment firm KKR focused 
on investing in and operating a portfolio of emerging medical technology 
companies. Zeus Health is a continuation of the long-standing strategic 
partnership between KKR and Duke Rohlen. Zeus Health is headquartered in Menlo 
Park, Calif.

Contacts
Media: Sarah Shew, sarah.shew@cardinalhealth.com and +1 614.553.3401; 
Investors: Kevin Moran, kevin.moran@cardinalhealth.com and +1 614.757.7942.

Cautions Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements addressing Cardinal 
Health's plans to divest the Cordis business and the financial impact to 
Cardinal Health resulting therefrom, as well as other statements about future 
expectations, prospects, estimates and other matters that are dependent upon 
future events or developments. These statements may be identified by words such 
as "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "will," "should," 
"could," "would," "project," "continue," "likely," and similar expressions, and 
include statements reflecting future results, trends or guidance, statements of 
outlook and expense accruals. These matters are subject to risks and 
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those 
projected, anticipated or implied. These risks and uncertainties include: the 
ability to successfully complete the divestiture of the Cordis business on a 
timely basis, including receipt of required regulatory approvals and 
satisfaction of other conditions; the risk that the costs associated with exit 
or disposal activities or stranded costs could ultimately be greater than we 
currently expect; the risk that the write-down or loss on sale of the 
transferred assets could ultimately be greater than we currently expect; and 
the possibility that the divestiture could result in an impairment of our 
remaining Medical unit goodwill. Cardinal Health is subject to additional risks 
and uncertainties described in Cardinal Health's Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and Form 
8-K reports and exhibits to those reports. This release reflects management's 
views as of March 12, 2021. Except to the extent required by applicable law, 
Cardinal Health undertakes no obligation to update or revise any 
forward-looking statement.

SOURCE  Cardinal Health