PCZ gets approval for CF Cefarm takeover

2011-12-20



The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) on 19 December gave the go-ahead for PCZ, the listed healthcare group, to acquire CF Cefarm, the last remaining state-owned drug distributor. The deal, first announced in October, is worth just under PLN 80.1m (€17.7m). PCZ will take up 85% of shares in CF Cefarm, with the remaining 15% to be held by employees. The group expects to finalise the transaction in the first quarter of 2012.
The takeover of CF Cefarm is a transformative deal for PCZ, which is a much smaller firm by revenues. According to data given in PCZ’s third quarter report, CF Cefarm is a top 10 drug distributor in Poland with a market share of about 5% and sales revenues in 2009 of PLN 914m (€202m). Its traditional focus has been on in imports and pre-wholesale sales, but it also operates a network of pharmacies.
By way of comparison, PCZ’s revenues for the first three quarters of 2011 slightly exceeded PLN 43.6m (€9.6m). But the group has been expanding fast with the help of a string of M&A deals, including e.g. the purchase of state-owned sanatorium medicine firms. Its objective is to create a diversified healthcare group with operations spanning hospital and ambulatory care, drug wholesaling, and drug retailing. At present it has four hospitals, six clinics and two pharmacies, all in southwestern Poland.