BUCHAREST (Romania), February 25 (SeeNews) – Romania's competition authority said on Tuesday that it will analyse the recent takeover of Romanian drug wholesaler Farmaceutica Remedia [BSE:RMAH by local drug trader Help Net.
In order to determine if the concentration is compatible with a normal competitive environment, the competition authority will consider the notified transaction under the merger regulation, the Competition Council said in a statement.
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Earlier this month, Help Net, part of Germany's Phoenix Group, said that it has signed an 8.5 million euro ($9.3 million) agreement to acquire 52 pharmacies from Farmaceutica Remedia. The acquisition will allow Help Net to expand its chain to over 350 pharmacies.
The pharmacies are present in 14 Romanian counties, most of them located in Hunedoara, Alba and the city of Bucharest.
Farmaceutica Remedia was founded in 1991 and currently operates 90 own pharmacies in 14 counties across Romania and an e-shop platform since 2012. It also operates nine logistic centres and has over 600 employees, according to data posted on its website.
The company is listed on the BVB since 1996.
The company's shareholders are Valentin Norbert Tarus with 65.5054%, Ionica Mirela Pavel with 24.23 and others with 10.2581%.
Its shares traded 0.41% higher to 0.4840 lei on the BVB on Tuesday at 1150 CET.
Help Net, established in 1998, has been a part of the Phoenix Group since 2018. Germany's Phoenix Group operates over 2,700 pharmacies in 15 European countries, generating an annual turnover of some 26 billion euro.
($=0.9244 euro)