Baxter, Cook finalize sale

Baxter Healthcare Corp. completed its $219 million acquisition of Cook Pharmaceutical Solutions Monday, a few months ahead of schedule. The Fortune 500 company cleared all applicable regulatory hurdles to take over the former division of Cook Group, Inc. -- the Bloomington-based medical supplies titan.\nCompany officials first announced the sale at a Cook Group suite in the Fountain Square Mall in downtown Bloomington in late June. Phyllis McCullough, a Cook executive vice president, said the company hopes to return to its original focus on minimally invasive medical devices such as stents and catheters.\nBut, McCullough said, the private $3 billion firm plans to keep its other divisions off the market. \nAs part of the deal, Baxter has purchased Cook's 11-acre manufacturing and office site on Curry Pike. The property includes a recently expanded 120,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art pharmaceutical manufacturing facility. \n"We are pleased to have concluded this transaction so quickly," said Joel Tune, general manager of Baxter's Global Drug Delivery business. "The acquisition of Cook Pharmaceutical Solutions broadens the range of products and services we can offer our global pharmaceutical company partners and supports our strategy of becoming a complete provider."\nBaxter officials said the Deerfield, Ill.,-based pharmaceutical giant hopes to cement its position as a full-time provider in the intravenous and other drug-delivery markets. Cook Pharmaceutical Solutions packages and labels prescription drugs in vials and pre-filled syringes.\nBy 2005, Cook Imaging President Jerry Arthur said the Bloomington facility should generate $250 million annually in intravenous sales. Arthur formerly presided over the pharmaceuticals division, which has expanded its staff from 170 to 300 in the past two years.\nRanked 258th on the Fortune 500 list, Baxter reported nearly $7 billion in sales internationally in the last fiscal year. Since the June purchase, its stock has wavered around the $54 level.\nBaxter has rehired the plant's 300 employees, who will receive comparable salaries and benefits. The only significant change is that the freshly minted Baxter employees will receive group health insurance instead of access to Cook's treatment centers.\nBaxter spokesman George Rafeedie said the company expects a seamless transition. An interim management staff has been visiting with the facility's employees since late June, he said. \n"We've had a steady stream of meetings," he said. "We hope for the further integration of our 300 new team members. And from the employees' point of view, they can look forward to working with a high-gross company and global growth."\nBloomington Mayor John Fernandez welcomed Baxter to the city's business community.\n"This is an exciting development for our community," he said. "Baxter has a strong component of community in its mission statement. And it has great potential for expansion."\nAt the June press conference, Baxter officials said they hoped to eventually expand the facility. \nCook officials said they plan on using proceeds from the sale to build the company's new headquarters. Construction is already underway at Park 48 just west of Bloomington.