Wolf Theiss advises Dr.Max Group on the acquisition of Gedeon Richter’s operations in Romania

Bucharest, 21 October 2022 – 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.”

Gabriel Ianculescu, M&A Director of Dr.Max Romania

“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.”

Ileana Glodeanu, Partner and Head of Corporate/M&A at Wolf Theiss Bucharest

About Dr.Max Group and Penta Investments

Present in 8 European countries, Dr.Max Group is the leading pharmacy chain in Central Europe dedicated to improving the health of patients. In Romania, Dr.Max is present in over 750 pharmacies, offering access to a wide range of medicines and pharmaceutical services. Dr.Max Group is fully owned by Penta Investments. Dr.Max streams of business include pharmacies, wholesale and sales and marketing divisions.
Penta is a Central European investment group established in 1994. It focuses on long-term investments into healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, retail, media and real estate development. It has been involved in the healthcare industry since 2002, investing in health insurance, hospitals, outpatient clinics, pharmacies and laboratories. Penta is one of the largest employers in the region and provides jobs to more than 43,000 people. The Group operates in more than 10 European countries and has offices in Prague, Bratislava and Warsaw.

About Gedeon Richter

Gedeon Richter is the largest producer of pharmaceuticals in Hungary. Gedeon Richter is also present in Romania, where it is the only vertically integrated pharma player on the local market, with manufacturing, distribution and retail operations. With a history of almost 120 years, Richter has manufacturing subsidiaries in five countries, including Romania, and its products are distributed in more than one hundred countries around the world.