McKesson customers unaware of Change Healthcare deal, Reaction survey finds

McKesson Corp. closed on a deal last month to merge its McKesson Technology Solutions division with revenue cycle and analytics company Change healthcare, but according to a new survey from Reaction, nearly half of McKesson's customers didn't even know it happened.

Roughly 47 percent said they had no idea about the merger. Meanwhile, 17 percent of Change's customers were unaware the deal was taking place.

The deal stipulates that Technology Solutions will merge with Change and operate wholly under the Change Healthcare brand, with McKesson holding a 70 percent stake in the company until Change's upcoming initial public offering.

[Also: McKesson got $1.25 billion in the just-closed Change Healthcare deal]

According to the company, Change Healthcare raised about $6.1 billion in debt to fund the merger. McKesson received a $1.25 billion payment and Change shareholders received $1.75 billion. The rest was used to cover transaction costs and to pay down $2.8 billion in existing Change Healthcare debt.

Polling a variety of information technology managers and directors, Reaction found that both customers and non-customers were largely neutral on the merger, with slightly more reacting positively than negatively.

Yet only 5 percent were more likely to choose either McKesson or Change after learning of the merger, while 27 percent said they'd be more likely to choose a competitor. The rest, about 68 percent, were neutral on the topic.

[Also: Research firm peer60 changes name to Reaction]

"McKesson has become a niche player," said one anonymous respondent. "I see the merger as a play for survival but nothing that is going to have a serious impact on the industry."

"McKesson is ridding itself of all hospital- and clinic-based technology," said another. "We will eventually see these products with Change die on the vine and eventually be gone altogether."

Others were more optimistic.

"Ripple effect between employees and leadership," one respondent said. "McKesson was part of our system in the past. They performed very well."

Twitter: @JELagasse