The family-owned McCabes Pharmacy group is to be bought by the owner of the LloydsPharmacy chain in Ireland.
Financial details about how much PHX Ireland, which is part of the PHOENIX Group, will pay under the deal are not being disclosed.
Currently McCabes has 32 outlets across the country, while LloydsPharmacy has 82, which means the combined new entity will be the largest retail pharmacy chain in Ireland.
Sources close to the deal said the footprints of both chains are complimentary and therefore no store closures are envisaged at this time.
However, the deal is still subject to the approval of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.
"We are delighted to welcome the McCabes Pharmacy group into the PHOENIX family," said Paul Reilly, chief executive of PHX Ireland.
"We have worked with McCabes for many years via our United Drug business and have always admired the innovation of services and distinctive customer service levels that Sharon and her team have brought to the Irish market," he added.
McCabes currently employs 432 people, while PHX Ireland, including LloydsPharmacy, has 2,000 employees.
The merged entity is to trade under the McCabes brand and will be led by Sharon McCabe, the current CEO of McCabes.
It is understood that the expanded group will adopt the name of the smaller McCabes chain because it is considered a strong brand and also because the licence to use the LloydsPharmacy name is due to expire soon.
"Both McCabes and LloydsPharmacy are businesses rooted in the communities they serve," said Sharon McCabe.
"We have shared ambition, values, and a vision for primary care in Ireland which centres on providing patients and their families with the very best advice, support and access to medicines," she said.
"We are both focused on enhancing the role of the pharmacist for the benefit of Irish patients and on creating a compelling and engaging place to work for pharmacists, technicians and all our retail colleagues," she added.
McCabes was founded in 1981 when Sharon McCabe's father, Roy, opened his first pharmacy in Malahide in Dublin.
In 2003 he sold the business to his four daughters, two of whom are pharmacists, four years after Sharon McCabe became CEO.
Also family owned, the PHOENIX group is a large European integrated healthcare provider.
Its operations include pharmaceutical wholesale, pharmacy retail and providing services for the pharmaceutical industry.
It recently completed the purchase of McKesson Europe, which includes wholesaler and distributor United Drug and nursing home service provider TCP Homecare.
During the pandemic, PHX Ireland was the sole distributor of Covid-19 vaccines in Ireland.
