Becton Dickinson to Buy CareFusion for $12 Billion
Merger Is Intended to Provide a Broader Range of Products for Hospital Systems
Becton, Dickinson BDX +1.51% & Co. agreed to buy CareFusion Corp. CFN +1.83% Sunday for $12 billion in a combination designed to provide a full range of products for hospital systems, according to people familiar with the matter.
Becton Dickinson and CareFusion make products including catheters, tubes and pumps that hospitals use to deliver medicines to patients.
By combining, Becton Dickinson, of Franklin Lakes, N.J., and CareFusion, of San Diego, aim to provide a more complete range of products to fast-changing hospitals, one of the people said.
Hospitals are joining forces amid health-care industry changes resulting from the 2010 Affordable Care Act and amid pricing pressures.
Hospitals are looking for ways to cut costs and improve care as health insurers try to control spending.