Euroapotheca, the owner of pharmacy chains in the three Baltic states and several other Central and Eastern European countries, is investing more than 300 million euros in the acquisition of a pharmacy chain in Sweden.
Euroapotheca, which is part of Vilniaus Prekyba (VP), one of Lithuania’s biggest business groups, said on Thursday that it had finalized the acquisuition of Apoteksgruppen i Sverige Holding (AGHAB), which provides franchise services to 189 pharmacies, and would buy 156 of these stores directly from private investors by late March.
According to Arvydas Zilinskas, head of corporate affairs at Euroapotheca, the Lithuanian company will directly own a total of 159 pharmacies, including the three AGHAB-owned stores. The remaining 30 pharmacies will continue to be owned by private investors and to use the Apoteksgruppen franchise and management services.
Euroapotheca has thus become Sweden’s fourth-largest pharmacy chain with a market share of around 9%.
The group now runs over than 600 pharmacies with combined revenue of 750 million euros in six countries.
