Catamaran to Buy Healthcare Solutions for $405 Million

By Chelsey Dulaney 

Catamaran Corp. has agreed to buy Healthcare Solutions Inc. in a $405 million all-cash deal expected to boost the pharmacy-benefit manager's presence in the workers' compensation market.

Meanwhile, Schaumburg, Ill.-based Catamaran posted stronger-than-expected revenue and earnings growth in its December quarter.

Pharmacy-benefit managers, or PBMs, process prescriptions for the groups that pay for drugs, usually insurance companies or corporations, and use their size to negotiate with drug makers and pharmacies. They have put pressure on drugstores by negotiating for lower prices on behalf of their clients and via mail-order plans that compete for prescription business.

Earlier this month, Rite Aid Corp. agreed to buy pharmacy-benefit manager Envision Pharmaceutical Services for about $2 billion in a move that will better position the company to compete with CVS Health Corp., which agreed to buy pharmacy-benefit manager Caremark Rx Inc. in 2006 for $21 billion.

Overall, for the quarter ended Dec. 31, Catamaran reported a profit of $100.5 million, or 48 cents a share, up from $74.4 million, or 36 cents a share, a year earlier.

Excluding amortization, per-share earnings improved to 67 cents from 56 cents a year earlier.

Revenue climbed 26.7% to $5.74 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had forecast per-share earnings of 61 cents on revenue of $5.57 billion.

Pharmacy benefit management revenue grew 26.9%, while health care information technology revenue grew 13%.

For 2015, Catamaran forecast adjusted earnings of $2.45 to $2.60 a share and revenue of $23.5 to $24.5 billion

Analysts had been expecting $2.59 a share in earnings on $23.79 billion in revenue.

Write to Chelsey Dulaney at [e-mail]

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