Facing increased scrutiny from Canadian regulators, Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) has been forced to push back the expiration date of its $165 million offer to buy medical products supplier Futuremed Healthcare Products.
The offer was originally set to expire today, Dec. 20, but has now been extended until Feb. 6, according to a statement from the two companies.
The reason for the extension is to allow Canadian regulators more time to complete their review of the deal. Regulators asked the two companies for unspecified additional information on the deal, though the companies stressed that the requests “were not unexpected.”
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At the time of the deal’s announcement in October, Dublin, Ohio-based Cardinal said the Futuremed purchase strengthened its presence in Canada and offered Cardinal new customers for its existing medical products.
Futuremed specializes in selling consumable nursing home supplies and furniture, and equipment to long-term care facilities. The company sells a wide range of products, from syringes to beds to training stairs used for physical therapy.
If the deal doesn’t go through, Futuremed could owe Cardinal a $4.6 million termination fee, the Canadian Press reported. Still, the companies said they expect the acquisition to close by the end of the first quarter, according to the statement.
Cardinal Health Canada is headquartered in Toronto and has seven distribution centers across the country.
