Cardinal Health Agrees to Buy Bindley

Cardinal Health Inc., the No. 2 U.S. drug distributor, agreed to buy rival Bindley Western Industries Inc. for $1.6 billion in stock. The acquisition of Indianapolis-based Bindley, a second-tier player in pharmaceutical distributing, ushers Cardinal into a new business--supplying hospitals with radioactive imaging agents for surgical diagnoses, a $1-billion market, the company said. Two years ago, the Federal Trade Commission shot down Cardinal’s planned $2.8-billion merger with Bergen Brunswig Corp. as well as a $2.25-billion matchup between AmeriSource Health Corp. and McKesson Corp., the No. 1 U.S. drug distributor. The agency said the pairings of the biggest industry players were anti-competitive. Geoffrey Fenton, a Cardinal spokesman, said he did not believe Cardinal’s acquisition of Bindley would arouse the same regulatory objections. Shares of Cardinal fell $4.94 to close at $94.56, and Bindley shares jumped $5.88 to close at $38.88, both on the NYSE.