UK pharmacy merger
In a rare true merger of equals, British pharmacy and retail company Boots Group PLC announced a merger with European pharmacy and drug retail company Alliance UniChem PLC. The new company will be named Alliance Boots,
The $12 billion company will be the #3 seller of pharmaceuticals in the UK, after supermarket chain Tesco and retailer GUS. The company will be even stronger as a drug distributor, where it will reportedly have a 40% share in the UK. It's indicative that Boots has lost share to discounters that have installed in-store pharmacies and have expanded their sales of health and beauty products.
While Boots is famous as the traditional (founded in 1849) High Street chemist's office in the UK, It has over 1,499 locations, which sells drugs, cosmetics, gifts, and even sandwiches.
Boots is selling off its Boots Healthcare International business, which sells over-the-counter drugs and personal care items, though the buyer has not been announced. Among these products are Clearasil skin care, Strepsils cold remedy, and Nurofen painkillers. According to some analysts, the sell-off could be worth up to $3 billion.
Alliance UniChem was founded in 1887, by the merger of French and English drug industry companies. It has 1,200 retail pharmacies in 11 European countries. In Europe overall, it is the #3 retail pharmaceutical chain. Its pharmacies are often connected with hospital and health centers. It also distributed drugs to hospitals, nursing homes, and other retail pharmacies. The company even has its own generic drug brand, called Almus.
Alliance Boots will concentrate on the retail and wholesale pharmacy businesses. Both companies have seen declines in recent years. In Boots's case, come of that comes from pursuing other non-core businesses (including auto parts and do-it-yourself), all sold off.
The new company has stated it plans for aggressively expanding internationally. It is notable that it is the only firm involved in two tiers (wholesale and retail) of the drug industry.
7:10:59 PM 
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