There will be no changes to the management as a result of the move, A&D Pharma’s chief executive officer Robert Popescu said on ZF Live.
“With the arrival of the new investor, I expect much stronger development of our retail operation, and expansion done faster, considering the financial strength of the investment group,” A&D Pharma’s CEO says.
Robert Popescu admits it is rather difficult to say anything about development abroad, considering Penta Investment has been involved in the pharmaceutical retail in the region for 15 years.
“I don’t know to what extent our expertise could be used abroad; as for wholesaling, I am not convinced there is a firm intent to buy wholesalers in the region.”
Czech Republic-based investment group Penta Investment signed the agreement to buy A&D Pharma at the end of December. As a result of the deal, Penta will become the owner of Mediplus Exim, the leader of the pharmaceutical wholesale market in Romania and of the second leading pharmaceutical retailer with its Sensiblu and Punkt chains. The deal also included A&D Pharma Marketing & Sales, the group’s pharmaceutical marketing and sales platform in Central and Eastern Europe.
“In a deal, the investor looks at the performance of the company first of all, at its stability and capacity to develop and then at the market it operates on and its predictability. The A&D Pharma deal is the first step a major operator backed by significant funding takes on the local market.”
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)