Mckesson Corp

McKesson Corp., the biggest U.S. drug distributor, said Monday that it would buy software provider Per-Se Technologies Inc. for $1.8 billion to expand its electronic data business, whose customers include doctors, hospitals and pharmacies. McKesson would pay $28 a share in cash for Alpharetta, Ga.-based Per-Se, the companies said. That's 15% higher than Per-Se's Friday closing price of $24.45. The total price includes outstanding debt.

Two former McKesson Corp. executives were acquitted Friday on one count each of federal securities fraud, but a mistrial was declared on six other counts in a $9-billion accounting scandal at the pharmaceutical distribution company. Charles W. McCall, the company's former chairman, was charged with fabricating revenue and then trying to cover up a conspiracy to inflate profit before its 1999 merger with Atlanta-based HBO & Co.

Drug distributor McKesson Corp. said its fiscal second-quarter profit rose 37% as generic drugs helped cut costs and the company sold more computer systems. A gain on income-tax expense boosted earnings. Net income for the quarter ended Sept. 30 rose to $229 million, or 75 cents a share, from $167 million, or 53 cents, a year earlier, San Francisco-based McKesson said. Revenue rose 5% to $22.4 billion. Profit beat analyst estimates.

McKesson Corp.'s profit rose slightly in its fiscal first quarter, but not enough to meet analysts' expectations as the nation's largest prescription drug distributor paid the price for reshuffling some operations. The San Francisco-based company said Thursday that it earned $184 million, or 60 cents a share, for the three months ended in June. That represented an 8% increase from $171 million, or 55 cents, a year earlier. Revenue rose 13% to $23.6 billion.

McKesson Corp., the biggest U.S. drug wholesaler, will pay $18.5 million to settle a lawsuit brought by employees who participated in its profit-sharing investment plan. U.S. District Judge Ronald Whyte in San Jose gave preliminary approval of the settlement Friday, said Ronald Kravitz, a lawyer for the employees. The case stems from McKesson's 1999 restatement of earnings after it said that HBO & Co., the software company it acquired that year, had prematurely booked $40 million in sales.

McKesson Corp., the biggest U.S. drug wholesaler, said fiscal fourth-quarter earnings fell 15%, hurt by limits on profitable stockpiling. Net income declined to $220 million, or 70 cents a share, from $259 million, or 85 cents, a year earlier, San Francisco-based McKesson said. Revenue rose 12% to $23.1 billion. McKesson and other wholesalers are signing more contracts with drug makers that guarantee fees for distribution while limiting stockpiling.

McKesson Corp., the biggest U.S. drug wholesaler, won the first stage of a lawsuit that accused TriZetto Group Inc. of infringing a 1993 patent for software that detects fraudulent billing. A Wilmington, Del., jury found that TriZetto violated the patent, paving the way for a second trial to determine damages the Newport Beach-based company must pay to San Francisco-based McKesson.

McKesson Corp. won approval for a $960-million settlement with shareholders who sued over an earnings restatement after the company acquired HBO & Co. in Atlanta. U.S. District Judge Ronald Whyte in San Jose approved the settlement. The 1999 restatement led to a one-day drop in the San Francisco company's stock that wiped out $8.6 billion in market value.

Drug wholesaler McKesson Corp. has agreed to pay $3 million to settle allegations that it defrauded the Pentagon by charging more for medicine than government contracts allowed, federal officials said Thursday. The civil settlement resolves claims McKesson overcharged for pharmaceutical products from October 1997 to December 2001, the Justice Department said. McKesson denied any wrongdoing. "We actually believed the government owed us money," said company spokesman Larry Kurtz.