Cardinal Health Inc. announced Thursday that it plans to divest its Pharmaceutical Technologies and Services (PTS) drug manufacturing business.
PTS manufactures and packages 100 billion doses of medication every year for pharmaceutical and biotech firms. PTS employs approximately 10,000 at more than 30 facilities worldwide and generates $1.8 billion in revenue.
According to a statement released by the company, “the decision was made to focus Cardinal Health's capabilities and resources to better serve health-care provider customers, such as hospitals and pharmacies.”
Cardinal Health expects to use the proceeds to repurchase company shares. In anticipation, the board has initially authorized an additional $1 billion, bringing the company's total repurchase authorization to $3 billion for fiscal 2007 and 2008.
The company will retain Martindale and Beckloff Associates, two businesses that support the generic pharmaceutical market. The two businesses have approximately 400 employees at two primary locations in the U.S. and the UK.