IRVING, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--McKesson Corporation (NYSE: MCK) today announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell its UK businesses to AURELIUS, a pan-European asset management group with offices in Munich, London, Stockholm, Madrid, Amsterdam, Milan and Luxembourg. The transaction includes the sale of McKesson UK businesses LloydsPharmacy, LloydsDirect (previously Echo by LloydsPharmacy), AAH Pharmaceuticals, LloydsPharmacy Clinical Homecare, LloydsPharmacy Online Doctor, MASTA and John Bell & Croyden. The transaction is expected to close in fiscal 2022, subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of required regulatory approvals.
The agreement, which follows McKesson’s recently announced sale of certain European businesses, is another important step in advancing McKesson’s commitment to streamline the business and fully exit the European region.
“We are extremely proud of the role that our business has played to advance better healthcare in the UK, and especially the work during the pandemic to ensure that patients continue to have access to needed medicines and to assist the NHS with the distribution and administration of COVID-19 vaccines,” said Brian Tyler, chief executive officer, McKesson. “As we explore strategic options to fully exit Europe, this transaction provides our UK operation with the best path forward to achieve its long-term growth potential, while allowing McKesson to focus future investments in strategic growth areas outside of Europe.”
AURELIUS expects to support McKesson UK by further investing in and growing each of its business divisions. The pan-European multi-asset manager has a proven track record and focus on operational excellence and shares McKesson’s deep commitment to serving its customers.
Cautionary Statements
Except for historical information, statements in this press release related to McKesson’s proposed disposition of certain operations and assets in Europe constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in those statements. It is not possible to identify all such risks and uncertainties. The reader should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are first made. Except to the extent required by law, the company undertakes no obligation to publicly update forward-looking statements. We encourage investors to read the important risk factors described in the company’s most recent Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These risk factors include but are not limited to: we might be adversely impacted by delays or other difficulties with divestitures such as the transactions described in this press release; we from time to time record significant charges from impairment to goodwill, intangibles and other assets or investments; we might be adversely impacted by events outside of our control, such as widespread public health issues, natural disasters, political events and other catastrophic events.
About McKesson Corporation
McKesson Corporation is a global leader in healthcare supply chain management solutions, retail pharmacy, community oncology and specialty care, and healthcare information solutions. McKesson partners with pharmaceutical manufacturers, providers, pharmacies, governments, and other organizations in healthcare to help provide the right medicines, medical products and healthcare services to the right patients at the right time, safely and cost-effectively. United by our ICARE shared principles, our employees work every day to innovate and deliver opportunities that make our customers and partners more successful — all for the better health of patients. McKesson has been named a “Most Admired Company” in the healthcare wholesaler category by FORTUNE, a “Best Place to Work” by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, and a top military-friendly company by Military Friendly. For more information, visit www.mckesson.com.
