Chemist Warehouse has struck a deal with Sigma Healthcare to create the biggest pharmacy company in Australia […] a company with a value in excess of $8.8 billion.
It also makes Sigma Healthcare a substantially bigger player in the market. Right now, Sigma has a market capitalisation of $810 million — but the deal grows its value by almost 11 times.
But it’s not only the monetary value of the company that makes this such a big deal — it would also make it one of the top 100 companies listed on the ASX.
The merger will create three tiers of pharmacy that won’t compete with each other: the big box discount (Chemist Warehouse), the full service (Amcal, My Chemist) and the discount (Discount Drug Stores).
Notes on edited title
My title options were:
- Chemist Warehouse may be a discount pharmacy, but it’s agreed to a merger worth $8.8 billion
- What does the Chemist Warehouse merger with Sigma Healthcare mean for the pharmacy giant?
So I edited it for a more descriptive one lol.
Honestly, I’ll be a bit surprised if the ACCC lets this one through to the keeper - this could mean a dramatic reduction in competition. But, then again, it’s not been Allan Fels’ ACCC for a long time. Their teeth are nowhere near as sharp any more.
They shouldn’t, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they did. They were going to let through the origin buyout by brookfields