Competition watchdog probes Uniphar deal to acquire Limerick's Touchstore

The CCPC is to carry out a full investigation into the deal between pharmaceutical wholesaler and pharmacy owner Uniphar and pharmacy software firm TouchStore over price and competition concerns

Uniphar owns Allcare Pharmacy, Hickey’s Pharmacy and McCauley Health and Beauty.

The competition watchdog is to carry out a full investigation into the planned acquisition of Limerick pharmacy software firm TouchStore by wholesaler Uniphar.

The two companies announced the deal in January. Uniphar is one of two full-line pharmaceutical wholesalers in Ireland, and it also owns retail stores, franchise networks and buying groups. It owns the Allcare Pharmacy, Hickey’s Pharmacy and McCauley Health and Beauty.

TouchStore employs 35 developers and support staff in its Limerick office. Under the deal, the company will continue to operate as a separate legal entity with its existing management and support teams in place.

In a statement this week, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) said it would carry out a full Phase 2 investigation into the acquisition, saying it must assess certain mergers and acquisitions in order to prevent harmful effects on competition in the State, such as changes to price, consumer choice, quality and innovation.

While the transaction did not meet the thresholds for mandatory notification, the CCPC used its statutory powers, to ‘call in’ below-threshold mergers it believes may impact competition in Irish markets. The deal was notified to the CCPC in April. 

Following a preliminary examination, the CCPC has decided an in-depth investigation is needed to establish whether the proposed transaction will result in a substantial lessening of competition in Ireland.

As the transaction was completed prior to its notification, the CCPC has imposed interim measures requiring Uniphar and TouchStore to continue operating independently pending the outcome of its review.

In a statement, Uniphar said it would continue to engage with the CCPC on the review. "Uniphar has also agreed with the CCPC that it may proceed to migrate its 134 owned Hickey’s, McCauleys and Allcare stores to the TouchStore platform while the CCPC concludes its review."

"TouchStore continues to operate as a separate legal entity with its existing management and support teams in place and appropriate data segregation safeguards, to ensure the confidence of existing and future customers.

"Uniphar remains confident that the absence of any market overlap between Uniphar’s and TouchStore’s existing offerings, coupled with measures which the businesses have already implemented in the interests of their existing customers, means the transaction is pro-competitive and will realise significant benefits for Irish community pharmacies," the company said.