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Mail-Order Pharmacy Is Selling Subsidiary

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By DAVE SIMANOFF, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 25, 2008

TAMPA - AmerisourceBergen Corp., the mail-order pharmacy giant, said Thursday it's in the process of selling PMSI, its Tampa-based subsidiary specializing in workers compensation cases.

The company already has started reviewing bids for PMSI, and expects to complete a deal by April or May, spokesman Michael Kilpatric said. Until a new owner is announced, it's premature to speculate about what changes may be in store for PMSI and its 860-person work force, he said.

Nearly all of PMSI's employees work at the company's offices and distribution center on Kelsey Lane in east Tampa. About 70 other workers work at other locations around the country.

AmerisourceBergen, which is based in Valley Forge, Pa., is seeking to divest PMSI in order to focus on its primary mail-order businesses.

PMSI generates between $400 million and $450 million a year in revenue, and is the leader in its market niche, Kilpatric said.

"We believe this is a good business, and we've done a lot of investing in it," he said. "It continues to be a viable business, and it can be a very valuable business for someone."
AmerisourceBergen may decide to hold onto PMSI if it doesn't find a suitable buyer. If that happens, Kilpatric said the company will discuss initiatives to "invigorate" the business, including the possibility of reducing the size of the work force.

"It might mean less people, but today I can't speculate about it," he said.
AmerisourceBergen was created in 2001 by the merger of AmeriSource Health Corp. and Bergen Brunswig Corp. The company traces its operational presence in this area back to PharMerica Inc., a Tampa-based mail order pharmaceutical company that was purchased in 1999 by Bergen Brunswig for $1.26 billion.

Reporter Dave Simanoff can be reached at (813) 259-7762 or dsimanoff@tampatrib.com.

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