McKesson has signed a definitive agreement to purchase all outstanding shares of US Oncology for a total cash transaction, including the assumption of US Oncology’s outstanding debt, valued at approximately $2.16 billion. The combined organization will focus on offering technologies for the oncology industry.

The new organization will bring together the capabilities of the San Francisco-based McKesson and the Woodlands, Texas-based US Oncology to provide oncology customers access to:

• Clinical expertise, clinical research and personalized medicine offerings;
• Health IT, including the iKnowMed and Lynx technology platforms, for outcomes measurement, reporting and product and inventory management;
• Practice management technologies and consultative capabilities for independent community specialists; and
• Distribution capabilities and supply-chain expertise.

US Oncology’s existing Comprehensive Strategic Alliance practice management system and core services will remain intact, while the combined organization will offer an "array of a la carte technology, practice management, reimbursement and clinical services to the community oncology segment," the companies said. US Oncology does not employ the physicians or own the practices affiliated with the company, and all customers will retain the capability to select any business relationship model.

The parties said they are targeting a closing by the end of McKesson’s third fiscal quarter, ending Dec. 31, subject to customary conditions, including all necessary regulatory clearances. Excluding transaction and integration costs, the acquisition is expected to be neutral to McKesson’s diluted earnings per share in its current fiscal year, and modestly accretive beginning in McKesson’s fiscal year 2012.