Chester County’s drug distribution giant has swallowed another impressive asset in its hunger to get the best products and health care into the hands of patients who need them.

On Tuesday, Valley Forge-based AmerisourceBergen announced its acquisition of acute care compounded sterile preparations provider PharMEDium for $2.58 billion cash.

“The acquisition of PharMEDium strengthens our core business and meaningfully expands our innovative service offerings for health systems,” President and CEO Steven H. Collis said. “PharMEDium’s impressive track record of growth and proven ability to consistently deliver high-quality CSPs in key therapeutic areas make them the undisputed leader in an important growth area of the U.S. healthcare market. PharMEDium is a compelling addition to our business, which allows us to provide differentiated offerings and further increases our ability to drive both value and efficiency for our health systems customers in a way that enhances patient safety and helps improve patient outcomes.”

The deal is projected to close by the end of the year.

“We are excited about this transaction, which brings together two great brands built on the same strong foundation of patient safety and quality, service excellence and value to our customers,” PharMEDium CEO William R. Spalding added. “We are confident in our ability to leverage the depth and breadth of the AmerisourceBergen organization to further enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of our hospital pharmacy CSP services and solutions.”

Read more about AmerisourceBergen’s dealmaking and growth this year in previous VISTA Today coverage here.