Through this transaction, Dr.Max Group will continue to strengthen its position on the pharma retail and wholesale market. The deal was signed on October 20, 2022 and is pending clearance by Romania’s Competition Council.
“With the acquisition of Gedeon Richter’s retail and distribution operations in Romania, Dr.Max further reinforces its leading position as an omnichannel retail pharma provider in Romania. This transaction is also a clear sign of confidence in the Romanian market and our strategy aims to continue strengthening our position in the CEE region. Over the last several months, we have been working closely with our legal advisors from Wolf Theiss and their expertise, dedication and pro-active approach have been essential for the successful signing of the transaction”, stated Gabriel Ianculescu, M&A Director of Dr.Max Romania.
“The acquisition of Richter Group’s pharmaceutical retail and wholesale operations in Romania marks another big step in the expansion of Dr.Max Group on the Romanian market and further solidifies our position among Europe’s leading pharmacy chains,” stated Leonardo Ferrandino, CEO of Dr.Max Group.
“This agreement follows the divesture of similar non-core businesses in the Republic of Moldova last year and it further increases strategic focus on core activities. The sustained protection of high margins achieved by our highly specialised pharmaceutical business segment is of paramount importance to Richter management,” said Gábor Orbán, CEO of Richter.
Penta Investments operates on external markets under multiple brands, having one of the most extended pharmacy chains in the region. Penta is a Central European investment group established in 1994, focusing on long-term investments into healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, retail, media and real estate development.
Dr.Max Group ranks third in Europe and is present on the pharmaceutical market with more than 2,300 pharmacies. The Group operates across eight countries such as the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Serbia, Italy, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania, and has more than 650 pharmacies in Romania.
Dr.Max Group relied on the legal expertise of the Bucharest office of law firm Wolf Theiss for the acquisition of the pharma retail and wholesale operations of Gedeon Richter in Romania.
Wolf Theiss’ Corporate / M&A team in Bucharest, led by Partner Ileana Glodeanu, acted as a legal advisor to Dr.Max Group in all stages of this pharma transaction which consisted in conducting legal due diligence, submitting the competition and transactional assistance file for acquisition in a competitive process and running the M&A negotiations regarding the agreement for the purchase of shares and of the entire transactional package, governed by Romanian law.
Alongside Partner Ileana Glodeanu, Wolf Theiss Senior Associates Mihai Coada and Luciana Tache (both members of the Corporate / M&A team) were key contributors to the success of this deal. Furthermore, an interdisciplinary team from several practice groups was involved: Employment – Senior Associate Costin Salaru; Data Protection, IP & TMT – Associate Nina Lazar; and Banking & Finance – Associate Catalin Sabau. For antitrust issues, Partner Anca Jurcovan and Associates Maria Ionescu and Claudia Andreescu (Competition & Antitrust) completed the Wolf Theiss team.
The Gedeon Richter pharmacy chain, part of Gedeon Richter Group headquartered in Hungary, ended 2021 with a turnover of over RON226 million, up 13% on the year, in line with publicly available data. Going back almost 120 years, Gedeon Richter has manufacturing units in five countries and its products are distributed across more than 100 countries globally.