DUBLIN, Ohio — In a move to expand its specialty pharmaceutical services, Cardinal Health Inc. has agreed to acquire Healthcare Solutions Holding LLC in a $517 million cash deal.

Cardinal said Wednesday that the agreement also includes the opportunity for earn-out payments of up to $150 million over the next three years. The pharmaceuticals and health care products distributor expects the deal, pending regulatory approvals, to close early in its 2011 fiscal year, which starts July 1.

The acquisition stands to boost Cardinal’s current capabilities and extend its reach in specialty pharmaceuticals, a market segment that IMS Health projects to grow at twice the rate of traditional pharmaceuticals for the next five years and exceed $100 billion in sales by 2013, according to Cardinal.

"This acquisition is an important building block in our strategy to create a differentiated set of services for oncology and specialty customers," Cardinal chairman and chief executive officer George Barrett said in a statement. "Healthcare Solutions Holding is a natural extension of Cardinal Health’s businesses and will enable the growth of our specialty distribution operations."

Healthcare Solutions Holding is the parent company of a number of subsidiaries, including P4 Pathways and P4 Healthcare. These businesses, Cardinal said, serve key participants across the chain of specialty care including doctors, pharmaceutical companies and payors by providing key tools, services and data to help improve the quality of patient outcomes and raise efficiency in the delivery of health care services.

"Cardinal Health is our ideal partner as we look to grow our business in oncology and other specialty therapeutic areas, as well as increase the scale and scope of our offerings," stated Jeffrey Scott, CEO of Healthcare Solutions Holding. "We bring unique specialty care offerings and expertise to Cardinal Health, and we are excited to tap into their existing capabilities, which offer complementary services to help better serve our customers."

Once the acquisition is completed, Healthcare Solutions Holding’s results will be reported within Cardinal’s pharmaceuticals segment. Cardinal said it expects the transaction to be neutral to slightly accretive in fiscal 2011 and more meaningfully accretive in fiscal 2012 and beyond.