STUTTGART, Germany & RICHMOND, Va., Jul 23, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- --Owens & Minor intends to keep business and teams intact
--Celesio takes significant step as part of focus on its core business
Celesio AG, a leading international trading company and provider of logistics and services in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sector, announced today that it plans to sell its Movianto Group, which specializes in third party logistics for the pharmaceutical and medical device industries, to Owens & Minor, Inc. (NYSE - OMI), a leading U.S.-based distributor of medical and surgical products and logistics provider. With the pending divestiture of Movianto, Celesio is rapidly strengthening its focus on its core business. Owens & Minor intends to acquire Movianto for a purchase price of EUR130 million ($158 million). The transaction is subject to the fulfillment of certain customary local legal provisions. Owens & Minor, which has a U.S.-based, third party logistics service, but no European operations, plans to integrate the two businesses, and plans to keep the Movianto teams and logistics centers located across Europe intact. Celesio and Owens & Minor also intend to explore mutually beneficial projects in distribution and logistics in the healthcare markets.
“The intended acquisition of Movianto provides Owens & Minor with a premier European healthcare logistics franchise, enabling us to significantly expand our existing third-party logistics presence and scale,” said Craig R. Smith, president & chief executive officer of Owens & Minor. “Our manufacturer partners have increasingly expressed interest in working with Owens & Minor on a global basis, and Movianto provides us with an exceptional platform from which to serve them. Owens & Minor looks forward to working with the Movianto and Celesio teams to serve customers and create long-term value.”
For Owens & Minor, the acquisition of Movianto will enable the company to enter the European market with a broad and fully functioning third party logistics platform. Owens & Minor intends to assume the customer relationships, the logistics centers and the 1,800 team members across the network of 23 facilities in 11 European countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany and France. Owens & Minor’s U.S.-based third party logistics service and Movianto, share highly complementary services such as warehousing, transportation, cold chain logistics, as well as value-added services such as order-to-cash, repackaging and relabeling of products. Owens & Minor’s core business, which generates revenues of nearly $9 billion annually, is the distribution of medical and surgical supplies to the acute-care market. The company’s 4,800 teammates operate from 48 distribution centers located strategically across the United States. The company was founded in 1882 in Richmond, Virginia, and remains headquartered there today.
“We are about to sell Movianto more swiftly than originally planned,” said Markus Pinger, chief executive officer of Celesio. “We can combine this with the opportunity to pursue partnerships with Owens & Minor, a leading U.S. company. We are implementing our new strategy with great consequence and step by step. The decision to sell is mainly driven by the buyer’s reputation for quality and integrity, thus defending the best interest of the Movianto employees. With Owens & Minor, we have found a potential investor who will drive Movianto’s successful development, offering new prospects. This will be an all-round positive solution for all parties concerned.”
About Celesio Group
Celesio is a leading international trade, logistics and service company working in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sector that proactively and preventatively ensures that patients receive optimum care and support. It operates in 27 countries worldwide and employs around 46,000 people. With more than 2,200 owned and 4,500 partner and brand partner pharmacies, it looks after more than two million customers daily. It supplies around 65,000 pharmacies and hospitals with up to 130,000 medications through approximately 140 branches. For more information visit company website at: www.celesio.com
About Owens & Minor, Inc.,
Owens & Minor, Inc. a FORTUNE 500 company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, is a leading national distributor of name-brand medical and surgical supplies and a healthcare supply-chain management company. Owens & Minor is also a member of the Russell 2000(R) Index, which measures the performance of the small-cap segment of the U.S. equity universe, as well as the S&P MidCap 400, which includes companies with a market capitalization of $1 billion to $4.4 billion that meet certain financial standards. With a diverse product and service offering and distribution centers throughout the United States, the company serves hospitals, integrated healthcare systems, alternate site locations, group purchasing organizations, healthcare suppliers, and the federal government. Owens & Minor provides technology and consulting programs that improve inventory management and streamline logistics across the entire medical supply chain - from origin of product to patient bedside. For news releases, or for more information about Owens & Minor, visit the company website at www.owens-minor.com .
SOURCE: Owens & Minor, Inc.
