Acquisition Deal Would Create 3rd-Largest PBM in the U.S.

A $13 billion deal might create a pharmacy benefit management giant that rivals the top two in the nation in terms of prescriptions processed – if stockholders allow the transaction to go through. United HealthGroup’s subsidiary, OptumRx, announced on March 30 that it would acquire Catamaran Corp. in a deal worth about $12.8 billion. The combined entity would be the third-largest pharmacy benefit management firm in the country, according to Vishnu Lekrah, a financial analyst for Morningstar who follows Catamaran. Lekrah wrote in a statement that Express Scripts processes about 1....