On March 23, Cencora announced that its portfolio company, Retina Consultants of America (RCA), entered into an agreement to acquire EyeSouth Partners’ retina business. The purchase price is $1.1 billion, marking the largest eye care purchase price in the last five years and the largest Physician Medical Group (PMG) deal of 2026 so far.
Based in Atlanta, Georgia, EyeSouth Partners, a portfolio company of Olympus Partners as of 2022, is an eye care services organization.EyeSouth’s affiliate network comprises more than 400 doctors providing medical and surgical eye care at more than 275 locations across 14 states. Additionally, it operates 26 surgery centers throughout 12 states.
RCA is a physician management services organization (MSO) formed by Webster Equity Partners in 2020. Headquartered in Southlake, Texas, RCA has more than 215 physicians across more than 300 locations in 20 states. It was bought by Cencora in 2024 for $4.6 billion.
Cencora, formerly known as AmerisourceBergen, is an American drug wholesale company and contract research organization formed by the 2001 merger of Bergen Brunswig and Amerisource.
The affiliated retina physicians of EyeSouth Partners will join Cencora’s Retina Consultants of America. BofA Securities is serving as the lead financial advisor to Cencora, and Citi is also serving as a financial advisor to Cencora. Sidley Austin LLP is serving as legal advisor to Cencora. Jefferies LLC is serving as the exclusive financial advisor, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving as the legal advisor to EyeSouth Partners.
This transaction strengthens RCA and Cencora’s retina care footprint and highlights the consolidation in the general eye care space. Upon completion of this transaction, EyeSouth will remain the MSO for its network of non-retinal ophthalmology and optometry practices, including all clinics and surgery centers.
Retina care providers remain highly attractive assets because they often provide more outpatient surgical care than other eye specialties. They also frequently utilize specialized intravitreal injection treatments. While the injection treatments were not specifically mentioned in EyeSouth’s portfolio, both assets could bolster Cencor’s drug portfolio.
The press release noted that this deal builds on Cencora’s mission to expand past drug distribution by adding high-margin health services to its portfolio. In line with that strategy, this transaction follows Cencora’s 2025 acquisition of OneOncology from TPG for $5 billion.
Cencora expects the acquisition to be slightly accretive, net of financing costs, to its adjusted diluted EPS in the first twelve months following transaction closing. Cencora’s reaffirmed fiscal 2026 financial guidance does not currently contemplate the transaction closing in its fiscal 2026.
According to data in the LevinPro HC database, this transaction represents the 129th PMG acquisition of 2026, and the fifth in the eye care specialty. Throughout 2025, 34 eye care transactions were reported. Since the start of 2025, there have been 10 transactions focused on the retinal care space, highlighting its prominence.
Both RCA and EyeSouth are among the most active eye care investors, with each reporting multiple deals annually. Since 2020, EyeSouth has announced 26 transactions, expanding its network of eye care practices and outpatient surgery centers. In the same time period, RCA reported 30 acquisitions. Its peak was in 2022 when the company announced 10 deals.
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