McKesson to buy CoverMyMeds for $1.1 billion

CoverMyMeds has proven that you can start a tech company in Ohio and sell it for more than a billion dollars eight years later.

McKesson has agreed to acquire the medical software company for $1.1 billion, plus another $300 million if the medical software company hits its financial targets.

The deal would put CoverMyMeds into the hands of a giant diversified health care services company – the fifth largest company in the United States.

CoverMyMeds will operate as independent business unit under its existing leadership team, according to a post on CoverMyMeds.com. Cofounders Matt Scantland and Sam Rajan have made long-term commitments to the company, the post stated, noting that Scantland will remain CEO and Rajan, who is based in Highland Hills, will continue “his leadership in sales.”

The company also remains committed to its offices in Columbus and Highland Hills.

CoverMyMeds employed more than 400 people as of July 2016, the vast majority of whom work in Columbus. Its Northeast Ohio operations until last year were in Twinsburg. It brought in about $100 million in revenue during 2015.

In addition to enriching the company’s founders, the deal also could generate cash for a few local investors, including JumpStart Inc. of Cleveland. The tech-focused nonprofit invested in CoverMyMeds in 2010, just two years after it was founded. It also could boost Ohio’s reputation, given that the state now officially has it’s first “unicorn” (a term often used to describe tech startups valued at more than $1 billion).

Read the full story at Crain’s Cleveland Business.