Cardinal sees no retail opposition to Bergen merger; regional antitrust issues are not a concern, firm says.
Executive Summary
CARDINAL CLAIMS RETAIL CUSTOMER SUPPORT FOR BERGEN MERGER, John Kane told the Bear Stearns health care conference in New York City on Sept. 9. "We have gotten tremendously high customer acceptance and customer affidavit support" for the merger of Cardinal Health and Bergen Brunswig to create the largest drug wholesaler, Kane maintained. "I know the [Federal Trade Commission] is calling customers and we are surprised that the response we've had is much higher than we thought it would be." Cardinal and Bergen announced the merger in late August ("The Pink Sheet" Sept. 1, p. 3).