UnitedHealth Makes Deal to Buy Diplomat as Industry Consolidation Enters 'Second Phase'

by Leslie Small

Diplomat Pharmacy, Inc., which has been in a tailspin amid mounting financial losses, agreed to a deal with UnitedHealth Group on Dec. 9 that will see the larger firm's OptumRx division purchase the midsized specialty pharmacy provider/PBM.

Diplomat's difficulties began to come into focus earlier this year, when the firm disclosed customer losses in its PBM business and "increased competitive pressure in the specialty market." In August, Diplomat said it was "reviewing strategic alternatives" to maximize shareholder value. Then on Dec. 9, UnitedHealth disclosed that it agreed to pay $4 per share for Diplomat’s outstanding stock and assume its debt. Equities analysts noted that Diplomat's stock was trading at $5.81 as of market close on the Friday before the transaction was unveiled.

Adam Fein, Ph.D., CEO of Pembroke Consulting, Inc.'s Drug Channels Institute, says that "the specialty pharmacy market is reaching maturity, as PBMs and insurers dominate specialty drug dispensing channels." Diplomat, he says, "was unable to navigate the industry's evolution."

"Diplomat's sale at a bargain basement price signals that the shakeout is underway," Fein adds. "Fewer new specialty pharmacies are starting up, the bigger companies are getting acquired, and market share is concentrating further with the biggest players."

Ashraf Shehata, KPMG's national sector leader for health care and life sciences, says that the purchase of Diplomat comes as the rivalry is intensifying between UnitedHealth and its two big consolidated rivals, CVS Health Corp. and Cigna Corp.

Now that those companies have completed major transactions to assemble their assets — with CVS buying health insurer Aetna and Cigna acquiring the PBM Express Scripts — "we're kind of seeing what I call the second phase right now of the competition really heating up between the big players," he says.

Growth continues to be the "name of the game" for those three companies, Shehata says, but it’s difficult to come by in an industry that's already so consolidated. Because of that, "now you might see some growth on the edges" in the same vein as the UnitedHealth/Diplomat deal, he adds.

From RADAR on Drug Benefits