CD&R and McKesson Agree to Acquire Option Care Health for $5.8B

CD&R and McKesson Corporation have signed an agreement to acquire Option Care Health for $32.05 per share, valuing the company at approximately $5.8 billion. CD&R The agreement was announced on October 6, 2026. Reuters

Option Care Health is an infusion therapy provider. Reuters The buyers are acting together, with CD&R and McKesson named as joint acquirers in the signed agreement. CD&R Terms are fixed on a per-share basis.

The signing followed a report on October 5 that McKesson and CD&R were near a $5 billion-plus deal to buy Option Care Health. Financial Times That report framed the deal under discussion as expected to value the company at more than $5 billion including debt. Financial Times The October 6 announcement replaces that preliminary range with confirmed pricing.

The broader context here is the move from an including-debt estimate to a confirmed headline valuation. For credit and equity desks, the distinction matters. A per-share cash price anchors equity value directly, while a headline enterprise figure depends on how net debt, cash, transaction expenses and fully diluted share count are treated at close. Until the proxy or offer documents define those adjustments, the $32.05 figure is the cleaner anchor. The $5.8 billion label should be read as an approximation tied to that price.

In my view, the co-acquirer structure is the point practitioners will model most carefully. Joint bids split economics, governance and funding between two parties with different balance-sheet and return constraints. That can affect equity checks, debt financing, voting and consent rights, and post-close operating control. None of those terms are disclosed in the verified facts. They will sit in the merger agreement and any ancillary stockholders or governance agreements.

Looking at what this means for execution, signing is only the start of the closing process. Market pricing from here will focus on conditions, timetable and certainty of funds rather than strategic rationale. Practitioners will look to the definitive agreement for outside date, closing conditions, termination fees in both directions, and any provisions for regulatory clearance or shareholder approval. Price is set. Risk shifts to completion.

For valuation work, discipline around the two numbers is essential. Use $32.05 as the contractual consideration. Treat $5.8 billion as the communicated approximation, not as a substitute for an independently calculated enterprise value. The prior day's more-than-$5-billion including-debt framing is now background. It explains the sequencing from press speculation to signing, but it does not define the transaction.

Looking ahead, documentation will determine how the market underwrites the spread. Cash consideration simplifies the payoff at close to a single variable: whether and when the deal completes. That focuses attention on filings, disclosures and the detailed merger terms rather than on further price discovery.