Celesio, Europe's top pharmaceutical trader, is concentrating on acquiring pharmacies in Ireland, the Netherlands and Belgium, its chief executive told Financial Times Deutschland today.
Celesio, formerly known as Gehe, owns wholesale business Cahill May Roberts here.
'These regions are strategically especially interesting for the development of our pharmacy business,' Fritz Oesterle told the newspaper in an article published today.
Oesterle said the firm's network of pharmacies already covers Norway and the UK.
Oesterle said financing acquisitions would not be a problem as Celesio still has not touched the €460m it raised from a capital increase in 2002.
He said Celesio expects no negative impact from changes in Germany's health policy. Germany wants to freeze drug prices for two years starting in April.
'The ban on discounts most likely will have a positive effect on the wholesale business,' Oesterle said.
Celesio, which runs more than 1,900 pharmacies and an extensive European wholesale network, posted a 13.1% rise in pre-tax profit for the first nine months of the year. It has said it wants to continue on its acquisition trail as a means to grow, with purchases planned in all three arms of the business: retail, wholesale and logistics.
