A spokesman for Germany's Cartel Office, who confirmed the raids on Thursday, declined to provide the names of the companies targeted.

Germany-based Gehe, a drugs distributor which McKesson controls as part of its 2014 purchase of most of Celesio AG's shares, said in a written statement its offices had been searched and that it was fully cooperating with antitrust authorities, declining to comment further.

(Reporting by Matthias Inverardi; Writing by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Harro ten Wolde)