HedgeCo.Net — Clayton Dubilier & Rice and McKesson Corporation have signed a definitive agreement to take Option Care Health private for $32.05 per share in cash, a total enterprise value of approximately $5.8 billion, the companies announced on Tuesday. Option Care Health, the largest independent U.S. provider of home and alternate-site infusion services, will remain a separate company led by its existing management team after the deal closes.
The structure is a sponsor-strategic partnership rather than a conventional buyout. CD&R will hold a majority interest of about 51%, while McKesson will invest roughly $1.4 billion for a minority stake of about 49% and account for it under the equity method. The agreement also sets out a framework under which McKesson could later acquire CD&R’s interest, subject to specified conditions and regulatory approvals. The price represents a premium of about 37% to Option Care Health’s closing share price on the last full trading day before the announcement, and the Wall Street Journal reported the shares jumped 33% in premarket trading.
Option Care Health employs more than 8,000 people, including more than 5,000 clinicians, and operates in all 50 states. The transaction requires approval by the company’s stockholders and regulators and is expected to close in the first half of calendar 2027. In light of the deal, the company withdrew its previously issued financial guidance and said it will release third-quarter results on November 4 without a conference call.
Financing is already lined up. BofA Securities, Barclays, Goldman Sachs, Jefferies and Wells Fargo are acting as financial advisors and providing committed financing to the consortium. Centerview Partners and Kirkland & Ellis advised Option Care Health, Debevoise & Plimpton is counsel to CD&R, and Davis Polk & Wardwell and Reed Smith are advising McKesson.
For private equity, the deal is a template for putting large checks to work in healthcare services alongside a strategic partner that brings both capital and a potential exit path. Pairing with McKesson reduces the equity CD&R must commit at a premium valuation and builds in a natural future buyer, a meaningful feature at a time when sponsors are under pressure to show limited partners credible routes to distributions. It also underlines continued sponsor appetite for care delivered in lower-cost, out-of-hospital settings, where specialty and complex therapies are a growing share of spending.