Owens & Minor to buy medical equipment firm Rotech for $1.36 billion

(Reuters) - Medical supplies distributor Owens & Minor said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy medical equipment firm Rotech Healthcare for $1.36 billion in cash to expand its presence in home-based care.

The deal will give Owens & Minor access to Rotech's portfolio of home medical equipment, including those used for treatment of sleep apnea and diabetes.

Owens & Minor expects to use a combination of cash and debt to fund the transaction.

In August, people familiar with the matter said Rotech was exploring a possible sale.

Rotech, which partners with insurance companies to provide patients with medical equipment, offers fee-for-service arrangements to its customers for equipment such as stationary and portable home oxygen equipment, ventilators, and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines.

(Reporting by Bhanvi Satija and Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli and Shounak Dasgupta)