Advent Makes $1 Billion Bid for Dutch Pharmacy Chain Mediq

By Maud van Gaal and Anne-Sylvaine Chassany - 2012-09-24T14:10:11Z

Advent International Corp. will offer to buy Dutch pharmacy chain Mediq NV (MEDIQ) for 775 million euros ($1 billion) in cash as it seeks to expand in the health-care distribution industry.

The Boston-based leveraged buyout fund plans to make a bid of 13.25 euros a share, 53 percent more than Mediqs closing price on Sept. 21, the companies said in a statement today. Advent will pay for the takeover with debt and equity. Mediq shares rose as much as 52 percent in Amsterdam trading.

Mediq, founded in 1899 and based in Utrecht, owns 226 pharmacies in the Netherlands. It sells drugs, medical devices and related care services in 15 countries including Poland, the U.S., Germany and Sweden. Private ownership will enable Mediq to make acquisitions to expand globally, and provide easier access to financing, the company said.

It makes sense for Mediq to operate in a private setting, Richard Withagen, an Amsterdam-based analyst at SNS Securities, said in a note. At the current offer, we believe Advent would obtain the direct and institutional business at an attractive price, without paying anything for the pharmacy operations.

Mediq rose 49 percent to 12.87 euros at 2:20 p.m., and had the biggest intraday gain since the shares started trading in 1992.

The management and supervisory boards of Mediq support the offer, the companies said. Templeton Investment Counsel and Silchester International Investors, representing 20.2 percent of shares in the Dutch company, have agreed to tender their stakes.

Silchester owned 15.3 percent as of Aug. 31, according to a regulatory filing. Mediqs other largest shareholders include ING Groep NV, Delta Lloyd NV and Navitas BV, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

As far as were concerned the takeover is just a proposal and no done deal yet, Jack Jonk, head of equities at Delta Lloyds asset management unit, said in an interview with Bloomberg News. Delta Lloyd owns about 14 percent of Mediq in total, he said.

Im satisfied with the interest in Mediq, which is proof of the company being undervalued enormously on the exchange, said Jonk, adding the proposed takeover price doesnt mean the undervaluation has been resolved.

Read the original here:
Advent Makes $1 Billion Bid for Dutch Pharmacy Chain Mediq