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FLINT, Mich. — Diplomat Pharmacy Inc. has closed its $595 million acquisition of pharmacy benefit manager LDI Integrated Pharmacy Services.
With the completion of the cash-and-stock deal, Diplomat also announced that it has obtained $800 million in senior secured credit facilities. The proceeds of the debt financing will be used to finance the LDI acquisition, pay related transaction fees and expenses, refinance Diplomat’s current indebtedness, and provide liquidity for the company’s future needs.
Joel Saban
Based in St. Louis, LDI includes URAC-accredited mail-order and specialty pharmacies, a national network of retail pharmacies and comprehensive clinical programs.
The acquisition, unveiled last month, better positions Diplomat to meet rising demand — particularly from small and midsize health insurers, third-party administrators, and self-insured organizations — as it expands from a specialty pharmacy provider to a broader health care company, according to Joel Saban, president of Diplomat.
“LDI significantly expands Diplomat’s ability to create an affordable drug benefit design and increase access to high-cost therapies,” Saban said in a statement. “Combining LDI with Diplomat’s specialty footprint allows us to address unmet market needs—ultimately helping patients get access to the right drugs at the right time.”
The combined company will be able to better serve middle-market payors seeking a service model that helps patients with complex therapies and reins in costs under the medical and pharmacy benefits, noted Albert Thigpen, chief operating officer of LDI.
“Specialty drugs — often new and expensive treatments — represent a majority of medications in the FDA pipeline,” Thigpen explained. “In such a fast-growing segment, our clients need intuitive, innovative approaches to manage rising cost and new therapies.”
