December 18 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's competition authority said on Wednesday that it will look into the agreed takeover of the local operations of Czech Republic-based healthcare company Walmark by Germany-headquartered STADA Arzneimittel.
STADA Arzneimittel sells medicines and cosmetic products in Bulgaria, while Walmark sells food supplements, over-the-counter drugs and cosmetics products, according to a notice drafted by the two companies and published on the website of the Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC).
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The operations of the two companies do not overlap significantly and do not have the potential to lead to the establishment or strengthening of a dominant market position, the notice reads.
STADA's Bulgarian unit - STADA Pharma Bulgaria, booked revenue of 5.2 million levs ($3 million/2.7 million euro) and a net profit of 232,000 levs in 2018, according to its annual financial statement. According to Walmark Bulgaria's latest publicly available financial statement, the company had revenue of 15.1 million levs and a net profit of 2.8 million levs in 2017.
Private equity investor Mid Europa Partners said at the beginning of November that it has signed an agreement to sell Walmark's business in Romania, Bulgaria and seven other EU countries to STADA. The transaction is is subject to customary anti-trust clearance is expected to close in the first quarter of 2020, CEE-focused Mid Europa said.
Walmark is a supplier of dietary supplements present in nine EU countries: Romania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland.
Stada Arzneimittel is a pharmaceutical company based in Bad Vilbel, Germany which specializes in the production of generic and over-the-counter drugs. It sells its products in over 120 countries and employs 10,400 worldwide.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)