Santa Ana Dialysis Products Distributor Sold to Indiana Firm

Privately held 3-C Medical Inc., which distributes dialysis products in Southern California and Mexico, was acquired Monday for an undisclosed price by a major Indianapolis pharmaceutical and medical products distributor.

Bindley Western Industries Inc. said it went through a subsidiary, Priority Healthcare Corp., to purchase the stock of 3-C’s sole owner, Robert McConnell, and will continue to operate the company in Orange County as Priority-3-C Medical.

McConnell became Priority’s vice president for Western operations and will continue to run the Santa Ana office with three other 3-C employees. McConnell said his wife is the only employee to retire.

3-C generates about $3.2 million in revenue a year distributing dialysis products under exclusive contracts with manufacturers. Priority’s Cerritos warehouse ships about $10 million worth of alternative care products for dialysis, oncology and AIDS patients.

Priority’s warehouse will be consolidated with the Priority-3-C operation at a new Orange County site yet to be selected, said Bindley Western’s chairman, William E. Bindley.

Bindley Western, a public company whose stock is traded on the Nasdaq market, is now generating revenue of about $4 billion a year, Bindley said.