Wolf Theiss advises Dr.Max Group on the acquisition of Gedeon Richter chain of pharmacies

Dr.Max Group, owned by Penta Investments, relied on the legal expertise of Wolf Theiss for the acquisition of the pharma retail and wholesale operations of Gedeon Richter in Romania.

Through this transaction, Dr.Max Group will continue to strengthen its position on the pharma retail and wholesale market. The deal was signed on 20 October 2022 and remains subject to clearance by the Romanian Competition Council.

Dr.Max Group, the leading pharmacy chain in Central Europe, owned by Penta Investments, has successfully signed the agreement for the acquisition of the retail and wholesale operations of Gedeon Richter in Romania.

Wolf Theiss’ Corporate / M&A team in Bucharest, led by Partner Ileana Glodeanu, acted as legal advisor to Dr.Max Group in all stages of this pharma transaction: conducting legal due diligence, competition filing and transactional assistance for the acquisition in a competitive process, including running the M&A negotiations of the share purchase agreement and of the entire transactional package, governed by Romanian law.

In addition to Partner Ileana Glodeanu, Wolf Theiss Senior Associates Mihai Coadă and Luciana Tache (both Corporate / M&A) were key contributors to the success of this deal. Additionally, an interdisciplinary team from several practice groups was involved: Employment – Senior Associate Costin Şalaru; Data Protection, IP & TMT – Associate Nina Lazăr; and Banking & Finance – Associate Cătălin Sabău. For antitrust issues, Partner Anca Jurcovan and Associates Maria Ionescu and Claudia Andreescu (Competition & Antitrust) completed the team.

“With the acquisition of Gedeon Richter’s retail and distribution operations in Romania, Dr.Max further reinforces its leading position as an omnichannel retail pharma provider in Romania. This transaction is also a clear sign of confidence in the Romanian market and our strategy aims to continue strengthening our position in the CEE region. Over the last several months, we have been working closely with our legal advisors from Wolf Theiss and their expertise, dedication and pro-active approach have been essential for the successful signing of the transaction“, commented Gabriel Ianculescu, M&A Director of Dr.Max Romania.

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“Over the last years, we have advised on some of the largest or exquisite transactions in the Romanian market, both on sell-side and buy-side M&A mandates. For our team, it is always a pleasure to assist leading market players like Penta Investments/ Dr.Max to strengthen their position in Romania and in the wider region. I am super proud of our Wolf Theiss M&A team who manages to navigate through intense workload and gracefully landed many deals in a number of hot sectors, such as healthcare, IT and renewable energy”, stated Ileana Glodeanu, Partner and Head of the Corporate / M&A practice at the Wolf Theiss Bucharest office.