Option Care Health Agrees to $5.8 Billion Sale at $32.05 a Share
What was agreed
CD&R and McKesson Corporation have signed an agreement to acquire Option Care Health for $32.05 per share in cash, 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 CD&R and McKesson are acting together as joint acquirers in the signed agreement. CD&R Terms are fixed on a per-share basis.
What was reported first
The signing followed an October 5 report that McKesson and CD&R were near a $5 billion-plus deal to buy Option Care Health. Financial Times That report described 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.
What to watch next
The broader context here is the shift from an including-debt estimate to confirmed pricing. A per-share cash price pins down equity value directly, while a headline figure depends on net debt, cash, deal expenses and fully diluted share count (all shares including options). Until the proxy or offer documents (shareholder filings) define those adjustments, $32.05 is the cleaner anchor. Treat $5.8 billion as an approximation.
In my view, the joint-buyer structure is what analysts will study most closely. Joint bids split funding, governance and economics 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. They will sit in the merger agreement and any related stockholder or governance agreements.
Looking at what this means for execution, signing is only the start. Market pricing now focuses on conditions, timetable and certainty of funds rather than strategic rationale. The definitive agreement should show outside date — the deadline to close — closing conditions, termination fees in both directions, and provisions for regulatory clearance or shareholder approval. Price is set. Risk shifts to completion.
For valuation work, use $32.05 as the contractual consideration. Treat $5.8 billion as the communicated approximation, not 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 move from press speculation to signing, but it does not define the transaction.
Looking ahead, documentation will determine how the market prices the spread (the gap to the $32.05 offer). With cash, the payoff comes down to whether and when the deal completes. That puts focus on filings, disclosures and detailed merger terms rather than further price discovery.
