Francisco Partners Completes Acquisition of McKesson’s Hospital Automation Unit

Company to Formally Launch as Aesynt at the 2013 Midyear Clinical Meeting of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists

San Francisco and Pittsburgh – Nov. 4, 2013 – Francisco Partners, a leading technology-focused private equity firm, today announced it has completed the acquisition of McKesson Automation, a unit of McKesson Corporation that offers integrated pharmacy automation solutions for hospitals and health systems. The company was renamed Aesynt upon closing.

“Our new shareholder relationship offers many opportunities to create solutions that help health systems to improve care, build stronger businesses, and manage the tremendous change underway in healthcare,” said Kraig McEwen, president of Aesynt. “The financial and operational support that Francisco Partners provides will allow us to help our customers meet these industry challenges.”

Commenting on the news, Chris Adams, a principal at Francisco Partners, added, “We are increasingly excited about Aesynt’s potential. The company is known for its deep knowledge of the medication delivery process, and we support Aesynt’s leadership team and its strategy to develop compelling automation solutions for medication management.”

Aesynt helps hospitals and health systems streamline the delivery of medications – from the distribution source to the patient – shifting focus from manual, time-consuming tasks to patient care activities that impact outcomes and reduce costs. The business offers a range of solutions addressing every stage of medication delivery within a hospital, including central pharmacy, nursing and surgical services.

The company’s new name, Aesynt (pronounced “ascent”), reflects the corporate vision and growth strategy to continuously advance medication management solutions. Aesynt will formally launch its new identity at the 2013 Midyear Clinical Meeting of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), including an exhibition of its full suite of pharmacy automation solutions. The event takes place Dec. 8 – 12 in Orlando, Fla.

McEwen added, “This business was founded in Pittsburgh and has deep roots in the local community. We intend to maintain our local headquarters and manufacturing, and plan to continue to hire to support our growth.”

ABOUT AESYNT
Aesynt designs and assembles robotics and automation products to help large hospital pharmacies and health systems manage, store, and distribute pharmaceutical drugs. Aesynt offers automation solutions at every stage of medication delivery – including Central Pharmacy, Point of Care, Packaging and Preparation and Ordering and Receiving. Through the use of robotics, bar-code scanning automation and web-based technologies, Aesynt’s portfolio of pharmacy automation solutions enhance medication ordering, dispensing, administration, charge capture and inventory management processes. Aesynt’s solutions are used by over 1,200 hospital customers and many of the largest medical organizations in the world.