[AMERISOURCE LOGO] [BERGEN BRUNSWIG CORPORATION LOGO]
Contact: Michael N. Kilpatric Donna Dolan
610-727-7118 714-385-4226
mkilpatric@amerisource.com donna.dolan@bergenbrunswig.com
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AMERISOURCE CORPORATION AND BERGEN BRUNSWIG CORPORATION ANNOUNCE PLANS FOR
AMERISOURCEBERGEN CORPORATION
TO ISSUE $400 MILLION SENIOR NOTES DUE 2008
VALLEY FORGE, PA, and ORANGE, CA, July 31, 2001 - AmeriSource Health Corporation
(NYSE: AAS) and Bergen Brunswig Corporation (NYSE: BBC) today jointly
announced plans for AmerisourceBergen Corporation to issue $400 million Senior
Notes due 2008 upon completion of the pending combination of AmeriSource and
Bergen in a merger of equals. The notes will be issued in a private placement
and are expected to be resold by the initial purchasers to qualified
institutional buyers under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933. The
proceeds from the sale of the notes will be used together with proceeds expected
from a new credit facility to repay AmeriSource's and Bergen's existing senior
secured credit facilities, to pay fees and expenses associated with the merger,
to repay certain of Bergen's other indebtedness, and for general corporate
purposes.
The notes to be offered have not been registered under the Securities Act of
1933 and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or
an applicable exemption from registration requirements. This press release
shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy such
notes in any jurisdiction in which such an offer or sale would be unlawful and
is issued pursuant to Rule 135-c under the Securities Act of 1933.
The matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking
statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and
Section 21E of the Exchange Act of 1934. Certain forward-looking statements can
be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as `believes',
`expects', `may', `will', `could', `should', `seeks', `approximately',
`intends', `plans', `estimates', or `anticipates', or the negative thereof or
another comparable terminology, and statements addressing the timing, benefits
and other aspects of the proposed merger. The following factors, among others
could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the
forward-looking statements: inability to obtain or meet conditions imposed for
government approvals for the transaction; failure of stockholders of AmeriSource
and Bergen to approve the merger; the risk that the businesses of AmeriSource
and Bergen will not be integrated successfully; failure to obtain and retain
expected synergies; and other economic, business, competitive and/or regulatory
factors affecting the business of AmeriSource and Bergen generally. The
inclusion of forward-looking statements in this press release by AmeriSource and
Bergen should not be regarded as representations by the companies that the plans
of AmeriSource and Bergen or AmerisourceBergen will be achieved. Readers are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which
speak only as of the date hereof. AmeriSource and Bergen assume no obligation to
update the information contained in this press release.