SWEDEN - Altor secures largest chunk of pharmacy network after wave of sell-offs

The Swedish government has sold off around two-thirds of the outlets of Apoteket AB, which has controlled the pharmacies market for 38 years. The sell-off's are part of a wave of divestments being undertaken by the centre-right administration, which has been criticised in the past by the EU's competition commission for its state monopolies in many areas of the economy.

The two clusters acquired by Altor, which invested through its EUR 2bn third fund, comprise a total of 208 outlets nationwide. The newly-formed business, Apotek Hjärtat, has a turnover of more than SEK 7bn and employs some 1,500 staff.

And Altor was not the only private equity investor to get in on the act. Fellow buyout house Segulah has acquired three of the smaller clusters that were on the block, comprising 62 pharmacies. The new company, Medstop Holding, has a turnover in excess of SEK 3bn and employs 660 staff.

Investor Growth Capital and Priveq investments have also jointly acquired a further two clusters, representing a total of 24 outlets. The newco, Vårdapoteket i Norden, has a turnover of SEK 1.4bn and employs 240 people.

The remaining and largest cluster, with 171 pharmacies, was acquired by Finnish trade buyer Oriola-KD Oyj.

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• Topics
• Buyouts
• Nordics