Romania’s Competition Council has approved the transaction by which the Sensiblu pharmacy network, part of the A&D Pharma group, will buy 78 Polisano and Reteta pharmacies from the Polisano pharmaceutical group in Sibiu.

The transaction amounts to EUR 20 million, according to the statements of the Polisano group president Remus Borza. The group doesn’t leave the retail segment as it will keep a few drug stores of its own.

Polisano has begun a rebranding process of its Reteta pharmacies under the Polisano brand. The group currently owns 80 pharmacies in 41 cities in Romania.

Borza said that the group decided to sell the pharmacies because it needed cash to support the drug distributor Polisano, which has had been confronted with financial difficulties in recent years.

The Polisano group includes a network of clinics, a private hospital, a drug distributor and a drug factory. The group was founded by local investor Ilie Vonica, who committed suicide in 2014. His family now controls the group.

Sensiblu, which is part of the A&D Pharma group, is one of the top local drug store chains, with revenues of EUR 267 million in 2015.

editor@romania-insider.com