“The owner of Welldyn PBM and Continental Benefits has a vision to reduce health care spend in this country by 25%. With fresh capital from the sale of Welldyn, smart money bets Continental Benefits will become a national super TPA in short order. Before the Welldyne sale Continental Benefits was on a fast track. Now it will be nuclearized on an even faster track.” – Molly Mulebriar
Lakeland pharmacy benefit manager sells to private equity
Aug 1, 2016, 10:28am EDT Updated Aug 1, 2016, 10:32am EDT
Margie ManningFinance EditorTampa Bay Business Journal
The Carlyle Group has a definitive agreement to acquire WellDyneRx Inc., a pharmacy benefit manager headquartered in Lakeland.
Financial terms were not disclosed in a press release, but the Wall Street Journal reported in June that WellDyneRx could be valued at about $1 billion.
Pharmacy benefit managers — or PBMs — are playing an increasingly critical role in…more
After last month’s sale of Vogue International in Clearwater, the WellDyneRx deal would be the second $1 billion-plus deal for private companies in the Tampa Bay area this year and is indicative of the strength of privately owned firms here, many of which have flourished after the financial crisis, learned how to right-size their businesses and how to make money in a slower growth economy.
WellDyneRx provides full-service prescription drug management between patients and drug plans through a network of retail providers as well as through mail order and specialty drug pharmacy. Major customers include small and mid-sized, self-insured employers, unions, municipalities and providers.
The deal provides opportunity for WellDyneRx to grow into a national pharmacy benefit manager, said Zachary Johnson, president of WellDyneRx.
Pharmacy benefit managers — or PBMs — are playing an increasingly critical role in the health care landscape by negotiating on behalf of employers and insurers who are contending with ballooning costs, Carlyle said.
Carlyle (NYSE: CG) — a global asset manager with $176 billion of assets under management — invests in companies that improve accessibility and affordability of health care, said Stephen Wise, managing director and head of global health care. WellDyneRx “has distinguished itself among peers by consistently seeking innovative ways to offer the highest quality member service while delivering cost savings to self-insured plans,” he said.
The deal comes on the heels of Carlyle’s sale of its 49 percent stake in Vogue International, a hair care and personal care products company that was acquired by Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) in July for $3.3 billion.
In the WellDyneRx deal, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC served as financial advisor and GrayRobinson and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLPserved as legal counsel to WellDyneRx. Latham & Watkins served as legal advisor to Carlyle.
Margie Manning is Finance Editor of the Tampa Bay Business Journal. She covers the Money beat.
