Cardinal Wings It in Alaris Deal

Cardinal Health (CAH Quote) is coughing up another wad of dough.

This time, the giant health care company is paying $1.6 billion for a global supplier of intravenous medical products. Cardinal compared its pending acquisition of Alaris Medical Systems (AMI Quote) to "winning the Triple Crown" on Wednesday. The company said that three key factors -- strategic fit, outstanding management and shareholder value -- make Alaris an attractive target.

Offering a scorecard for analysts on Wednesday, Cardinal CEO Robert Walter gave the Cardinal-Alaris combination "a solid A with, I believe, appropriate humility." ...