Cardinal Health Completes Spin-Off

Cardinal Health, Inc. (CAH - Analyst Report) has completed the spin-off of its Clinical and Medical Products business to form a subsidiary, CareFusion Corporation (CFN - Snapshot Report). The spin-off was completed through a pro rata distribution of roughly 81% of CareFusion’s common stock.

Roughly 222 million shares of CareFusion common stock were outstanding on the date of distribution. Of this, 180 million shares (81%) were distributed to Cardinal Health shareholders on a pro rata basis.

Cardinal Health retained the balance 41 million shares, which will be divested within the next five years. Cardinal Health shareholders received 0.5 share of CareFusion common stock for each share of Cardinal Health they hold.

We think that the spin-off will help Cardinal Health unlock the value of the assets tied to CareFusion and concentrate more on its core Healthcare Supply Chain business. The company’s core Healthcare business constitutes roughly 96% of total revenues.

Cardinal Health is one of the largest global healthcare companies that helps pharmacies, hospitals and ambulatory care sites to focus on low-cost patient care. The company is also a leading manufacturer of medical and surgical products.

The company recently released its fourth quarter and full fiscal year 2009 results. For the quarter, earnings per share were 86 cents, compared to 96 cents in the year-ago quarter but in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. For the year, earnings per share were $3.48, lower than last year’s earnings per share of $3.75 and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.50.

Based on the company’s performance, we have a Neutral recommendation on Cardinal stock.

Read the full analyst report on CAH

Read the full analyst report on CFN