The Competition Council approved the deal on the acquisition of pharmaceutical companies Esculap-Farm and Willow (Apoteka pharmacy chain) by Distrimed.
The Competition Council (CC) adopted the relevant decision after examining the application submitted by the economic concentration participants. The CC assessed the compatibility of the declared transaction with the economic environment, including by taking into account the relevant markets, and stated that the transaction would not lead to distortion of the competitive environment. All three participants of the economic concentration are engaged in wholesale and retail trade of pharmaceutical, parapharmaceutical and cosmetic products. As reported earlier by Infomarket Agency, Esculap-Farm is one of the largest wholesalers of pharmaceutical, parapharmaceutical and cosmetic products in Moldova. In 2020, the company's sales revenues amounted to 200.69 million lei (-10.6% compared to 2019), and net profit - about 880 thousand lei (against 65.4 thousand lei a year earlier). The company, which has about 40 employees, was founded in 1997 by Oleg Sîli. The same entrepreneur is the founder of Willow, which manages the Apoteka network of pharmacies. Today this network includes 15 pharmacies: 12 in Chisinau, 2 in Hincesti and 1 in Balti. In 2020 this network’s revenues from sales amounted to 67.6 million lei (+11.2% for the year), the last 2 years the company has suffered losses (3.6 million lei in 2019, 2.87 million lei in 2020). This network of pharmacies has almost 70 employees. Distrimed, which acquires these assets, is the exclusive distributor of Balkan Pharmaceuticals, Carbolemed and Luxfarmol brands. It was founded in 2009 by Romanian entrepreneur Gheorghe Apostol. At the end of 2020, the company's sales amounted to 215.6 million lei (up 1.8 times) and its net profit - 10.6 million lei (2.3 times growth), while the number of employees grew to 30. // 14.06.2022 - InfoMarket
