Home health care provider Apria Inc. acquired by Owens & Minor for $ 1.6 billion
Apria Inc., an Indianapolis-based supplier of oxygen kits, sleep apnea masks and other home care equipment, has agreed to be purchased by global health products distributor Owens & Minor Inc of Richmond, Va., for about $ 1.6 billion, the two companies announced Monday morning.
The deal is worth $ 37.50 per share, a 26% premium over Apria’s closing price on Friday. Apria shares jumped about 25% on Monday in pre-trade activity on the news. The agreement includes the assumption of approximately $ 150 million in debt.
It’s unclear what the deal will mean for Apria’s local presence. The company moved its headquarters to Indianapolis from the Los Angeles area just over a year ago and went public in February. About fifty people work there.
Owens & Minor, a supplier of medical and surgical products, has not said what it plans to do with Apria’s local operations. In an email to IBJ, Apria called the combination an “exciting step” but did not say what would happen to Indianapoliis operations once the deal is done.
“Apria remains focused on serving its patients and driving change in the sustainable medical equipment industry,” the email said. “Until the closing of the transaction, Apria and Owens & Minor will remain separate and independent companies and will continue to operate as such. Apria employees will not be prompted to make any changes to their workplace at this time. “
The agreement will combine Owens & Minor’s product lines in diabetes, ostomy, incontinence and wound care with Apria’s product portfolio in home respiratory care, obstructive sleep apnea and negative pressure wound therapy. to the chronic nature of asthma and other respiratory diseases.
Owens & Minor said the acquisition positions it to expand its product portfolio “to better serve patients throughout the patient journey.”
Apria CEO Dan Starck, who has led the company since 2015, will join Owens & Minor in an unspecified leadership role.
“I am energized and excited to join Owens & Minor,” Starck said in written remarks. “Both companies share cultures fueled by a commitment to customers, patients, teammates and the communities we serve. We look forward to coming together and providing our customers with the highest quality healthcare solutions. “
Apria is not a consumer products company and its brand is not well known outside of health care circles. Its head office in Indianapolis is behind a car wash, grocery store, and self-service storage off Interstate 65, near the intersection of Emerson Avenue and Southport Road. It has approximately 6,000 employees and hundreds of locations across the country.
Before going public last year, Apria was owned by Blackstone Group, a New York-based investment firm, which bought it for $ 1.6 billion in 2008 and made it private. Blackstone remains one of the largest holders of shares in Apria.
Owens & Minor recorded sales of $ 2.5 billion in the first nine months of 2021, which is far more than Apria, which had sales of $ 676 million in the same period.
