Priveq Investment and Investor Growth Capital have reached an agreement with Apotek Hjärtat to sell their holdings in Vårdapoteket i Norden AB (Vårdapoteket).
Vårdapoteket is the only niched pharmacy player with a focus on care-related pharmacy and was created in connection with the Swedish State deregulation and privatization of pharmacies in 2010. Since inception, the chain has grown from 24 outpatient pharmacies (pharmacies situated inside hospitals) to the current 27 and has also won four tender offers for in-patient pharmacy deliveries and services for county councils and thereby built up an attractive, supplemental business. Vårdapoteket was the first player that broke the de facto monopoly that Apoteket had in this market since deregulation in 2008, leading to lower costs for pharmaceutical handling in a number of county councils – with equal or better quality.
”We are proud to have been involved in creating a successful, niched business with outpatient pharmacies in the pharmacy market. Vårdapoteket has contributed to both lowering the costs of county councils by subjecting the in-patient pharmacy market to competition and also created an inspiring oasis for patients, staff, relatives and neighbors of the hospitals in which Vårdapoteket’s outpatient pharmacies are located” says Louise Nilsson, Partner and Investment Manager at Priveq and member of the Board of Vårdapoteket.
Apotek Hjärtat has signed an agreement to acquire all the shares of Vårdapoteket, subject to approval by the Swedish Medical Products Agency and the Swedish Competition Authority.
”We successfully carried out our plan to create a competitive niched pharmacy business with a complete range of products and services. We are now passing the baton on to Apotek Hjärtat, which we are convinced is able to successfully carry Vårdapoteket’s unique advantages further in a larger chain,” says Thomas Eklund, Managing Director at Investor Growth Capital and member of the Board of Vårdapoteket.
Apotek Hjärtat is the largest independent pharmacy chain after state-owned Apoteket AB, with just over 270 pharmacies and around 2,000 employees. Vårdapoteket and Apotek Hjärtat complement each other with a focus on outpatient pharmacies and inpatient pharmacy deliveries and services at Vårdapoteket and national coverage at Apotek Hjärtat.
”Vårdapoteket is now becoming a part of a larger chain and can achieve the benefits it entails; for the staff in the form of exchanges between pharmacies and increased educational opportunities, for customers of Vårdapoteket by being able to gain access to a larger pharmacy network even outside hospitals and from a profitability perspective through higher purchasing volumes. At the same time, Apotek Hjärtat is gaining access to a platform of care-related pharmacies and a successful inpatient pharmacy business that form an attractive growth opportunity for the future,” says Lars Gunneflo, CEO and member of the Board of Vårdapoteket.
For more information, please contact:
Louise Nilsson – Priveq Investment
Tel. +46 709 50 95 50
louise.nilsson@priveq.se
Thomas Eklund – Investor Growth Capital
Tel. +46-70 824 20 25
thomas.eklund@investorab.com