On September 20, Cardinal Health announced that it entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Nashville, Tennessee-based Integrated Oncology Network (ION) for more than $1.1 billion in cash.
ION is a physician-led independent community oncology network that partners directly with physicians, hospitals and other healthcare providers to offer the latest services and technologies to patients. Founded in 2008, ION has grown to more than 50 centers nationwide, providing a complete and integrated continuum of care including diagnostic testing, radiation oncology, medical oncology, urology and other ancillary services.
Cardinal Health is an American multinational healthcare services company, and the 14th-highest revenue-generating company in the United States. Cardinal Health provides pharmaceutical and medical products and services in the United States and worldwide. Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, the company specializes in the distribution of pharmaceuticals and medical products, serving more than 100,000 locations. The company, founded in 1971, has around 48,000 employees. According to its most recent financial report, the company generated nearly $205 billion in revenue and EBITDA of about $1.4 billion for FY 2023.
The transaction builds on Cardinal Health’s commitment to helping community healthcare providers maintain their independence. As part of the transaction ION practices will become members of Navista, Cardinal Health’s oncology practice alliance, and ION practice management and practice growth services will become part of Navista’s advanced services and technology offering. The transaction is expected to be accretive to non-GAAP earnings per share after 12 months following close.
This represents Cardinal Health’s third acquisition announcement of 2024. The company also acquired Specialty Networks in January and Innara Health in May. ION also made a deal announcement earlier in 2024 with its May acquisition of Urology Partners.
According to data captured in the LevinPro HC database, this acquisition marks the 11th management services organization (MSO) transaction of 2024. There were six MSO deals announced during 2023, and seven announced during 2022. Additionally, the ION acquisition marks the 11th largest deal by purchase price announced during Q3 2024, and the 34th largest deal announced so far this year.
