OREANDA-NEWS.  January 16, 2014. McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK), a leading North American healthcare services and information technology company, announced today it has reached an agreement with Franz Haniel & Cie. GmbH, currently representing a 50.01% stake in Celesio, to increase the purchase price for its shareholding in Celesio to EUR 23.50 per share. 

Accordingly, the price McKesson is offering to all shareholders of Celesio by way of a voluntary public takeover offer (“Takeover Offer”) increases to EUR 23.50 per share.

McKesson also announced that it has increased the consideration offered under its tender offers (“Tender Offers”) for the outstanding convertible bonds of Celesio Finance B.V. (“Convertible Bonds”) to a price equating to a look-through price of EUR 23.50 per underlying Celesio share.

The EUR 23.50 offer represents McKesson’s best and final offer with respect to the Takeover Offer and Tender Offers.

McKesson also announces that it has reached an agreement with Elliot to acquire their Celesio convertible bonds. The closing of the acquisition of the Celesio convertible bonds from Elliott is subject to the successful completion of the Takeover Offer and Tender Offers.

The periods to accept the Takeover Offer and the Tender Offers will remain unaffected and will end today, January 9, 2014, 24:00 hours CET. McKesson recommends to all shareholders and bondholders who have not tendered to date to do so as the Takeover Offer and the Tender Offers will lapse if the 75% offer condition is not met. There will be no additional acceptance period should the 75% offer condition not be met by today, January 9, 2014, 24:00 hours CET.

If the 75% offer condition is met by January 9, 2014, 24:00 hours CET, there will be an additional acceptance period for the Takeover Offer. Shareholders who have not tendered their Celesio shares into the Takeover Offer before January 9, 2014, 24:00 hours CET may tender their shares within the additional acceptance period. The additional acceptance period for the Takeover Offer is expected to commence on January 16, 2014 and end on January 29, 2014, 24:00 hours CET.

There will be no additional acceptance period for the Tender Offers.

Please note that financial intermediaries, custodian banks or brokers may have individually set earlier deadlines for their receipt of acceptance instructions in order to process these properly and in time. McKesson, therefore, advises Celesio shareholders and bondholders to contact their financial intermediaries, custodian banks or brokers as soon as possible to clarify the applicable deadline by which tender instructions need to be submitted.

Further information can be found on www.GlobalHealthcareLeader.com.