Friday, December 07, 2012

CVS is going to Brazil!

According to press reports, CVS plans to samba to Brazil by acquiring Onofre, the eight-largest pharmacy chain in Brazil. See CVS said in talks to buy Brazil Onofre for $313M. If you can read Portuguese, see Grupo CVS negocia a compra da Onofre.

According to IMS Health, Brazil's market (as measured by manufacturers' revenues) was $29.9 billion in 2011, and is projected to grow by 12-15% through 2016.

As far as I know, this would be CVS' first major international expansion. It's a sensible expansion of their strong core pharmacy business and provides a clear contrast to Walgreen's approach. The deal is tightly focused on retail pharmacy (without any distracting wholesale assets). Onofre can be readily acquired without any complex financial arrangements and provides a manageable platform to learn about this fast-growing market.

Full story below. Que gostoso!

Here's the MarketWatch story:

Dec. 7, 2012, 7:36 a.m. EST
CVS said in talks to buy Brazil Onofre for $313M

SAO PAULO-U.S. based CVS Caremark Corp. CVS -0.01% is in advanced talks to acquire Brazil's drugstore chain Onofre to mark its entry into the nation, the Valor Economico newspaper said Friday.

CVS will pay 650 million Brazilian reais ($313 million) to acquire a 80% stake in Onofre and will also assume the company's debt, the newspaper said in a report, without citing a source.

CVS and Onofre officials weren't immediately reached for comment.

Onofre is the eighth-largest drugstore chain in Brazil in terms of revenues. It posted gross revenue of BR1.2 billion in 2011. It has 44 stores in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Espirito Santo and Rio Grande do Sul states.

Onofre is controlled by the Arede family, which will remain in the company's management after the deal, the newspaper said.

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