Bergen Brunswig Subsidiary OKs Acquisition

Bergen Brunswig Corp. announced Friday that its drug distribution subsidiary has agreed to acquire the pharmaceutical distribution assets of Owens & Minor Inc. for about $50 million in cash.

The acquisition, expected to close in late February after regulatory and other approvals, will allow Bergen Brunswig Drug Co. to extend its distribution network from Virginia into the mid-Atlantic states and to quadruple its annual sales from $100 million to $400 million, said Robert E. Martini, Bergen Brunswig president and chief executive.

The Owens & Minor operations--located in Wilson, N.C.; Richmond, Va.; and Norfolk, Va.--have 230 employees, most of whom will be retained, said Neil F. Dimick, Bergen Brunswick’s Brunswig’s chief financial officer. The Norfolk division will be consolidated with an existing Bergen Brunswick Brunswig distribution operation there, which could mean a loss of some jobs for employees of both companies, he said.