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McKesson Sells Asia Pacific Business to Medibank

 |  By lmasterson@healthleadersmedia.com  
   April 09, 2010

McKesson Corporation announced Thursday that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell its McKesson Asia Pacific (MAP) business to Medibank Private Ltd., an Australian health services provider and insurer that covers more than 3.4 million people. 

MAP, which was founded in 1995 and acquired by McKesson in 2000, is a provider of phone- and Web-based healthcare services and focuses on telephone triage, health and wellness advice, chronic disease management, and mental health services in Australia and New Zealand. Medibank is a current customer of MAP.

McKesson, a healthcare services and information technology giant, said the deal resulted from an unsolicited offer from Medibank. The San Francisco-based company plans to continue operating in the Asia Pacific region through the company's other offerings.

"This was a unique opportunity to join two highly successful partners," said Emad Rizk, MD, president, McKesson Health Solutions. "McKesson Asia Pacific has delivered telephonic health management programs in Australia and New Zealand serving both the national and state governments of those countries over the past five years. We have also served Medibank's members with chronic care services and are excited about Medibank's potential to leverage the MAP business to provide even more of their members with access to high quality, convenient healthcare services."

The deal, which will make McKesson Asia Pacific a wholly-owned subsidiary of Medibank's Health Services Australia Pty Limited, is expected to close in the second quarter of 2010 after regulatory review in Australia. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.

Les Masterson is an editor for HealthLeaders Media.

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