Nottingham, 2014-8-13 — /EPR Retail News/ — Alliance Boots today announces that it has completed the acquisition of Farmacias Ahumada S.A. (“FASA”).
The completion follows receipt of regulatory approvals and the closing of the cash tender offer for the outstanding fully diluted share capital of FASA whose shares are listed on the Santiago Stock Exchange.
The acquisition comprises two main businesses, which together operate over 1,400 stores, with combined revenues of around £835 million. Farmacias Benavides is the third largest retail pharmacy chain in Mexico with around 1,000 stores, and Farmacias Ahumada is one of the three largest retail pharmacy chains in Chile with around 400 stores.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
About Farmacias Ahumada
Farmacias Ahumada is a network of pharmacies in Chile providing medicines, pharmacy products, nutritional supplements, beauty, hygiene, personal care and convenience items. Its store networks comprise five store formats: Farmacias Ahumada, Native, Farmarebajas, GNC and Guapa. At December 2013, it operated around 400 outlets in 98 cities, primarily in the central region of Chile, and it employed around 3,900 people.
About Farmacias Benavides
Farmacias Benavides is a network of pharmacies in Mexico, providing medicines and pharmacy products, convenience items and health & beauty products. At December 2013, it comprised around 1,000 stores, with coverage of 21 states (over 150 cities, including Mexico City since 2013) and the Federal District, and it employed around 7,800 people.
About Alliance Boots
Alliance Boots is a leading international pharmacy-led health and beauty group delivering a range of products and services to customers. Working in close partnership with manufacturers and pharmacists, we are committed to improving health in the local communities we serve and helping our customers and patients to look and feel their best. Our focus is on growing our two core business activities of: pharmacy-led health and beauty retailing and pharmaceutical wholesaling and distribution, while increasingly developing and internationalising our product brands.
Alliance Boots has a presence in more than 25* countries and employs over 108,000* people. We have pharmacy-led health and beauty retail businesses in nine* countries and operate more than 3,150* health and beauty retail stores, of which just under 3,050* have a pharmacy, with a fast growing online presence. In addition, Boots Opticians is one of the leaders in the UK optical market with around 600* practices, of which around 180* operate on a franchise basis, and we have a leading position in the UK hearingcare market through our associate, Boots Hearingcare, which operates in around 430* locations across the UK. Our pharmaceutical wholesale businesses supply medicines, other healthcare products and related services to more than 180,000* pharmacies, doctors, health centres and hospitals from more than 370* distribution centres in 20* countries.
In June 2012, Alliance Boots announced that it had entered into a strategic partnership with Walgreen Co., the largest drugstore chain in the US. In August 2014, Walgreens and Alliance Boots communicated that they plan to merge in the first quarter of calendar 2015 to create the first global pharmacy-led, health and wellbeing enterprise, which will be named Walgreens Boots Alliance.
* Figures are approximations as at 31 March 2014 and include associates and joint ventures.
For further information, please contact:
Media relations:
Yves Romestan/Laura Vergani/Katie Johnson/Julie Longton, Alliance Boots: +44 (0)207 980 8585
James Murgatroyd/Claire Scicluna, RLM Finsbury: +44 (0)207 251 3801
Investor relations:
Gerald Gradwell, Alliance Boots: +44 (0)207 980 8527 (UK)/+1 646 688 1336 (US)