Henry Schein Signs Definitive Agreement To Acquire AUV Veterinary Services B.V.

MELVILLE, N.Y., April 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ: HSIC), the world's largest provider of health care products and services to dental, medical and animal health office-based practitioners, today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire AUV Veterinary Services B.V., the veterinary distribution business of the AUV Group, a privately held company headquartered in Cuijk, the Netherlands.  AUV Veterinary Services is the leading distributor serving animal health practitioners in the Netherlands and Belgium, and reported net sales for 2011 of euros 194.2 million (USD $270.4 million).  Pending regulatory approval and upon closing, which is expected later this quarter, the acquired business is expected to be slightly dilutive to Henry Schein's 2012 earnings per share, and accretive thereafter. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

"AUV enjoys an excellent reputation and a leadership position in the markets it serves, and its heritage as a co-operative institution, operated with the insight and perspective of the veterinarians who founded it, will remain important as we move forward together," said Stanley M. Bergman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Henry Schein.  "AUV will provide Henry Schein entry into the Dutch and Belgian animal health markets as the category leader.  This important addition will further our Pan-European strategy of providing animal health practitioners across the continent with the products and services needed to operate more efficient practices and provide high quality care.  By expanding our European animal health footprint, we will also have an opportunity to provide even greater value to our manufacturing partners while upholding the highest level of service to a growing base of customers in the European market for animal health products."

AUV Veterinary Services has approximately 200 employees with distribution centers in Cuijk, the Netherlands, and Beringen-Paal, Belgium.  The company also includes AUV Advies, a consulting business serving veterinary practices, and AUV Academie, an education offering for veterinarians and their staff. 

Mr. Bergman added, "We look forward to welcoming to Team Schein the colleagues at AUV, including Rens van Dobbenburgh, the Company's Co-CEO, who will become Co-Managing Director for the newly combined company, serving alongside interim Co-Managing Director Peter McCarthy, Henry Schein's President, European Animal Health."

Founded in 1969 by 100 veterinarians, the AUV Group comprises a distribution business and a pharmaceutical business, as well as a majority stake in a pet insurance business and the holding company.  Today's announcement involves only the company's distribution and related businesses, which serve more than 2,000 large and small animal veterinarians.  Distributed products include pharmaceuticals, pet foods, small equipment and disposables.  The AUV Group announced last week the sale of its pharmaceutical manufacturing business, Eurovet.

1 2 3 Next › Last »