Cardinal Health to buy Medtronic units for $6.1 billion

REUTERS - U.S. drug distributor Cardinal Health Inc said on Tuesday it would buy medical device maker Medtronic Plc's medical supplies businesses for $6.1 billion in cash.

Cardinal Health is acquiring Medtronic's patient care, deep vein thrombosis and nutritional insufficiency units.

The businesses encompass 23 product categories across multiple market settings, including brands such as Curity, Kendall, Dover, Argyle and Kangaroo.

Combined, the units generated about $2.4 billion in revenue in the last four reported quarters, Medtronic said.

Cardinal Health's medical products unit has been a bright spot and is on track to reach mid- to high-single-digit revenue growth, at a time when investors have become more anxious about its drug distribution business, the company told Reuters earlier this month.

In 2015, Cardinal Health acquired Cordis from Johnson & Johnson for around $2 billion, adding a portfolio of devices, including catheters, filters and stents.

Cardinal Health said it would finance the acquisition with cash and $4.5 billion in new debt.

Medtronic's financial advisers are Piper Jaffray and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and legal advisers are Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Baker McKenzie.

Goldman, Sachs & Co and Perella Weinberg Partners LP provided financial advice to Cardinal Health and its legal advisers are Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Jones Day.

(Reporting by Akankshita Mukhopadhyay in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Martina D'Couto)