Dive Brief:
- Centene said Thursday it has inked separate agreements to sell two of its pharmacy businesses in deals totaling $2.8 billion.
- The payer plans to sell Magellan Rx to Prime Therapeutics and Pantherx to The Vistria Group, General Atlantic and Nautic Partners.
- The deals are subject to regulatory approval. Magellan Rx is expected to close in the fourth quarter while Pantherx is anticipated to close in the next two to four months.
Dive Insight:
Thursday's news builds on Centene's plan to sell off non-core assets as it looks to sharpen its focus on its main business.
Last fall, Centene said it was embarking on a long-term plan, known internally as the "value creation plan," to improve its profit margin. Executives said they were underway on analyzing the company's entire portfolio of assets and asking whether Centene is the best owner for non-core assets.
"These transactions demonstrate significant progress in our ongoing portfolio review and represent key milestones in our value creation plan," Centene CEO Sarah London said in a statement.
Centene has already made headway on the plan and sold its majority stake in U.S. Medical Management, a home care provider.
As part of the plan, Centene executives indicated they were rethinking the company's international business, looking for "strategic alternatives," according to a statement at the time.
Also, Centene has already said it will no longer operate a pharmacy benefit manager in-house and is in the process of finding a third-party to manage its more than $30 billion pharmacy business each year. London said on the company's first-quarter earnings call that the request for proposals has already been released and the company is on track for a year-end award.
Magellan Rx, a pharmacy benefit manager, was part of Centene's $2.2 billion acquisition of Magellan Health in January. Pantherx, a specialty pharmacy, was acquired by Centene in 2020.