Farmacias del Ahorro Agrees to Buy Benavides and Its 1,132 Pharmacies
Farmacias del Ahorro will buy rival chain Farmacias Benavides, pending antitrust approval. What it means for stores, prices and loyalty programs.
Farmacias del Ahorro has reached a definitive agreement to buy Farmacias Benavides, joining two of Mexico’s largest drugstore chains. The deal was announced on Friday, Nov. 13. If regulators approve it, the combined network would have roughly 3,000 locations nationwide, according to Expansión, and Publimetro reported the total would be more than 3,000.
Shoppers will not see changes yet. Both companies said they will keep running separately until the conditions for closing are met, and they announced no immediate changes to stores, prices, jobs or loyalty programs, Publimetro reported.
What this means for pharmacy customers
For now, Benavides stores keep operating as usual under their current management, the company said in its statement to investors. The purchase is not complete. It still needs regulatory approval, including from the Comisión Nacional Antimonopolio (Mexico’s national antitrust commission), according to Expansión.
Farmacias del Ahorro said it expects the combined business to widen its medical services, free consultations and medicine distribution, Publimetro reported. Neither company has explained how or when the two chains would be merged, and no closing date has been set.
The deal would also create a bigger rival to Farmacias Similares, which Expansión says runs close to 9,000 pharmacies.
How big Benavides is
Benavides started as a small apothecary in Monterrey. Its third-quarter report this year lists 1,132 pharmacies in 203 cities across 24 states, Expansión said. The company is strongest in the north, east and center of the country. Publimetro gave rounded figures of more than 1,100 stores and 450 doctor’s offices, while Expansión also described the chain as having more than 1,000 pharmacies and 500 medical offices. The two outlets differ on the number of in-store clinics.
Who is selling, and for how much
Benavides’ majority shareholder, The Boots Group, agreed to sell the company to Farmacias del Ahorro. The Boots Group is majority controlled by Sycamore Partners, working with Stefano Pessina and his family, Publimetro reported. Ahorro is buying all of the shares the sellers own, according to Expansión.
The price was not disclosed. Mauricio González, Benavides’ chief executive, called the agreement “a new and exciting chapter” for the chain. Publimetro noted that the sale puts Benavides back under Mexican ownership after more than two decades with foreign groups.
Leaving the Mexican stock exchange
The sale comes as Benavides is about to leave the Bolsa Mexicana de Valores (BMV, the Mexican Stock Exchange), where it debuted on April 28, 1993. The chain had sought to delist since 2014, after it was acquired by Alliance Boots, Expansión reported.
On May 26, the Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores (CNBV, Mexico’s banking and securities regulator) notified Benavides that it had opened an administrative procedure to cancel the registration of its shares in the national securities registry. The company said the sale agreement does not change that procedure, and it will keep investors informed about both the deal and the delisting.
What to watch next
The next steps are the antitrust review and the other closing conditions. Until they are met, Benavides and Farmacias del Ahorro remain separate businesses, with their own branches and programs.
Sources: Publimetro México, Expansión
