€40m buyout deal by UniPhar

HEALTHCARE distributor UniPhar has signed a deal that could be worth about €40 million to buy the Whelehan Group, a distributor of pharmaceutical, beauty, agricultural and garden products that is owned by management and the Cork-based Barry family behind Barry’s Tea.

The parties would not confirm the value of the deal, but industry sources said UniPhar was likely to have paid in the region of 15 times’ profits for the Dublin-based business. The Barry family owned 50% of Whelehan’s and its tea company was part of a consortium that recently splashed out almost €100 million on bean company Batchelor’s.

UniPhar chief executive Jim Canavan said the deal was a perfect fit for both groups and would provide major opportunities for growth and expansion.

UniPhar is owned by 450 independent pharmacists and had sales of €408 million last year. The group employs 350 people at bases in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Sligo and supplies community and hospital pharmacies. Its business includes Allphar, which supplies products on behalf of 50 international pharmaceutical companies, Surgicare, which supplies medical equipment to hospitals, and IPOS, the independent pharmacy ownership scheme that supports more than 80 community pharmacies.

The Whelehan group has a diverse customer base, supplying 3,000 customers with interests ranging from cosmetics to crop protection. Whelehan’s also owns pharmaceutical and veterinary healthcare wholesaler Boileau & Boyd, as well as medicine provider Perrans Distributors. Unicare said the acquisition would allow these companies to grow by providing an enhanced distribution network that would cover areas not previously open to them.

Whelehan group managing director Pat Keenan said the enlarged group would have better resources and provide higher levels of service to customers. “We are delighted to be joining forces with UniPhar to become part of a larger group with an excellent development strategy,” he said. Whelehan’s was the subject of a management buyout in 1998. It already employs 140 people and has annual sales of approximately €100m. The deal is subject to clearance from the Competition Authority.