American drug-store chain Walgreens bids for full control of Romanian Farmexpert’s owner

Welgreens, the drug-store operator in the US, wants to take full control of British group Alliance Boots, which also controls Romanian pharmaceutical distributor Farmexpert. Welgreens currently holds a 45 percent stake in Alliance Boots and has the option to buy the remaining 55 percent between February and August next year, but reports suggest the American group wants to do it sooner, according to British newspaper The Telegraph. The takeover might value Boots at around GBP 10.5 billion. The deal is attractive for Walgreens because it would enable the business to move its tax domicile to either the UK or Switzerland, making annual savings of billions of dollars. Alliance Boots indirectly controls Farmexpert, through its German subsidiary, Alliance Healthcare Deutschland. Farmexpert is one of the largest pharmaceutical distributors in Romania. The company had sales of over EUR 460 million in 2012. Net profit was almost EUR 20 million, according to data from the Finance Ministry. Its main competitors are Mediplus, which is part of A&D Pharma group, Polisano, Farmexim and Fildas, which are owned by Romanian entrepreneurs. editor@romania-insider.com