UDG completes €400m disposal to McKesson

Deal includes Irish United Drug business and positions UDG to grow its higher margin business

Healthcare services provider UDG said on Friday that it had completed the € 407.5m sale of some of its businesses to global pharmaceutical wholesaler McKesson.

The transaction, which was first announced in September 2015, includes UDG's Irish pharmaceutical distribution businesses United Drug Supply Chain Services business, United Drug Sangers business, TCP Group, as well as its UK based travel healthcare business MASTA, to McKesson.

UDG said that the disposal of the businesses is the “culmination of 15 years of strategic development for the company and transforms UDG Healthcare into a more focused international healthcare services business, providing significant firepower to fund the group’s ambitious plans to grow its higher margin, higher growth businesses”.

UDG's business is now focused on its sales reps and healthcare communications business Ashfield; packaging and serialisation company Sharp and Aquilant, which provides sales and marketing services to the medtech industry.

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UDG earlier said that it would use the proceeds of the deal to pay down debt and provide “significant firepower” to support its growth plans.

Fiona Reddan

Fiona Reddan

Fiona Reddan is a writer specialising in personal finance and is the Home & Design Editor of The Irish Times