Competition Bureau Releases Statement On Cardinal Health's Acquisition Of Futuremed

On April 16, 2012, Canada's Competition Bureau issued a statement outlining the analysis it had undertaken of Cardinal Health's then-proposed acquisition of Futuremed to conclude that, despite some concerns expressed by certain customers, the transaction was unlikely to result in a substantial prevention or lessening of competition in any relevant Canadian market. Stikeman Elliott acted on behalf of Cardinal Health.

Cardinal Health and Futuremed were both distributors of a broad range of medical supplies and surgical equipment to various healthcare facilities in Canada, supplying products from hundreds of global manufacturers. The Bureau noted that prices in the healthcare products distribution industry are typically set through a tendering process between manufacturers and customers, whereby manufacturers sell direct to the individual healthcare facility or, alternatively, to a buying group acting for several healthcare facilities. As such, authorized distributors of