Apollo Hospitals to acquire HMSL's pharmacy stores for Rs 146 crore

Apollo Hospitals Enterprise has inked a pact with Hetero Med Solutions to acquire it's pharmacy stores business for about Rs 146 crore.

"Apollo Hospitals Enterprise has entered into an MoU with Hetero Med Solutions for the acquisition of its retail pharmacy stores currently operated in Telengana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu," the company said in a filing to Bombay Stock Exchange.

The acquisition would be in the form of purchase of the business undertaking on a slump sale basis and comprises of 320 pharmacy stores, at an overall consideration not exceeding Rs 146 crore, it added.

Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Executive Vice Chairperson Shobana Kamineni said: "In order to drive the standalone pharmacy business segment's growth to the next stage, Apollo was on the look out for acquisitions to grow inorganically and considers the Hetero Pharmacy chain as the right choke given its significant presence in the relevant territories."

Apollo Hospitals Enterprise expects to leverage on it's proven track record of performance and operational capabilities to drive growth and profitability of the combined network and create long term value for it's shareholders, she added.

This will also create an opportunity to increase the sales of Apollo private label products, the company said.

Shares of Apollo Hospitals were trading at Rs 1,117.20 per scrip, up 0.86 per cent, in the afternoon trade on BSE.