Press Release Details

MELVILLE, N.Y., June 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ: HSIC), the world's largest provider of health care products and services to office-based dental, animal health and medical practitioners, announced today that it will acquire 85 percent of Jorgen Kruuse A/S (KRUUSE), a leading distributor of veterinary supplies in the Nordic countries and a growing international provider of veterinary products and services. KRUUSE had sales in 2014 of approximately $90 million, and will extend Henry Schein's geographic presence to Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

The remaining 15 percent of KRUUSE will be retained by the Kruuse family. Henry Schein expects the transaction to close in the third quarter of 2015, and for the acquisition to be neutral to its earnings per share from the date of closing through the end of 2015 and accretive thereafter.  Additional financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.  

Founded in 1896 and headquartered in Langeskov, Denmark, KRUUSE offers a comprehensive portfolio of proprietary products and branded consumable merchandise, as well as pet accessories, capital equipment and pet food to veterinary clinics and retail pet stores in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. In addition, KRUUSE has an operational presence in Poland, the United Kingdom, and China.  KRUUSE also serves customers in more than 100 countries through a network of distribution partners, with particular presence across Europe and the United Kingdom. KRUUSE has approximately 250 team members.

Through the acquisition of KRUUSE, Henry Schein's animal health business will expand to 23 countries, including the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, China, Malaysia and 17 countries in Europe. In 2014, Henry Schein's Global Animal Health business had sales of approximately $2.9 billion. 

"We are delighted to be entering the Nordic animal health market with a well-recognized family company that offers a highly regarded line of KRUUSE-branded products," said Stanley M. Bergman, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Henry Schein. "KRUUSE enjoys deep customer loyalty and satisfaction, as well as a reputation for quality products and strong brand awareness.  Building upon our recent acquisitions of scil animal care in Germany, Maravet in Romania, and SmartPak in the U.S., our animal health business continues to thrive while gaining market share through a combination of solid organic growth and strategic transactions."

Jesper Smith, who has served as Chief Executive Officer of KRUUSE since 2009, will join Henry Schein with continued responsibility for the KRUUSE business.  Other members of the KRUUSE leadership team will remain with the company, including Mads Kruuse, currently a Director, and Peter Eriksen Jensen, currently Chairman.

"Combining KRUUSE with Henry Schein Animal Health is an important component of our strategic plan for geographic expansion, brand development and revenue growth," said Mr. Smith.  "We are thrilled at the opportunity to be united with a global leader in animal health, and a company that shares our passion for providing the highest-quality care for companion, livestock and production animals, and helping our customers' businesses to succeed."

Henry Schein plans to expand the reach of KRUUSE's line of proprietary pet products to animal health customers across Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand.

According to Peter McCarthy, President, Henry Schein Global Animal Health Group, "KRUUSE is an excellent fit with Henry Schein, and in many ways is the prototype of what makes for a successful strategic transaction.  KRUUSE has a long and distinguished history, and having established an enviable position in the Nordic countries, they are now poised for further growth and business success.  Henry Schein will bring to KRUUSE valuable resources and expertise, while KRUUSE will strengthen our animal health presence across Europe."

The acquisition of KRUUSE will increase the number of countries where Henry Schein has operations or affiliates to 33.  This includes Henry Schein's recent 50 percent ownership investment in Maravet, a leading animal health distributor in Romania.

About Henry Schein, Inc.

Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSIC) is the world's largest provider of health care products and services to office-based dental, animal health and medical practitioners. The Company also serves dental laboratories, government and institutional health care clinics, and other alternate care sites. A Fortune 500® Company and a member of the S&P 500® and the NASDAQ 100® indexes, Henry Schein employs more than 18,000 Team Schein Members and serves more than one million customers.

The Company offers a comprehensive selection of products and services, including value-added solutions for operating efficient practices and delivering high-quality care. Henry Schein operates through a centralized and automated distribution network, with a selection of more than 100,000 branded products and Henry Schein private-brand products in stock, as well as more than 150,000 additional products available as special-order items. The Company also offers its customers exclusive, innovative technology solutions, including practice management software and e-commerce solutions, as well as a broad range of financial services.

Headquartered in Melville, N.Y., Henry Schein has operations or affiliates in 30 countries. The Company's sales reached a record $10.4 billion in 2014, and have grown at a compound annual rate of approximately 16 percent since Henry Schein became a public company in 1995. For more information, visit Henry Schein at www.henryschein.com, Facebook.com/HenrySchein and @HenrySchein on Twitter.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

In accordance with the "Safe Harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, we provide the following cautionary remarks regarding important factors that, among others, could cause future results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements, expectations and assumptions expressed or implied herein.  All forward-looking statements made by us are subject to risks and uncertainties and are not guarantees of future performance.  These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance and achievements or industry results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.  These statements are identified by the use of such terms as "may," "could," "expect," "intend," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "forecast," "project," "anticipate" or other comparable terms.  A full discussion of our operations and financial condition, including factors that may affect our business and future prospects, is contained in documents we have filed with the SEC and will be contained in all subsequent periodic filings we make with the SEC. These documents identify in detail important risk factors that could cause our actual performance to differ materially from current expectations.

Risk factors and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from current and historical results include, but are not limited to: effects of a highly competitive market; our dependence on third parties for the manufacture and supply of our products; our dependence upon sales personnel, customers, suppliers and manufacturers; our dependence on our senior management; fluctuations in quarterly earnings; risks from expansion of customer purchasing power and multi-tiered costing structures; possible increases in the cost of shipping our products or other service issues with our third-party shippers; general global macroeconomic conditions; disruptions in financial markets; possible volatility of the market price of our common stock; changes in the health care industry; implementation of health care laws; failure to comply with regulatory requirements and data privacy laws; risks associated with our global operations; transitional challenges associated with acquisitions and joint ventures, including the failure to achieve anticipated synergies; financial risks associated with acquisitions and joint ventures; litigation risks; the dependence on our continued product development, technical support and successful marketing in the technology segment; risks from challenges associated with the emergence of potential increased competition by third party online commerce sites; risks from disruption to our information systems; certain provisions in our governing documents that may discourage third-party acquisitions of us; and changes in tax legislation. The order in which these factors appear should not be construed to indicate their relative importance or priority. 

We caution that these factors may not be exhaustive and that many of these factors are beyond our ability to control or predict.  Accordingly, any forward-looking statements contained herein should not be relied upon as a prediction of actual results.  We undertake no duty and have no obligation to update forward-looking statements.

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SOURCE Henry Schein, Inc.

Investors, Steven Paladino, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, steven.paladino@henryschein.com, (631) 843-5500, or Carolynne Borders, Vice President, Investor Relations, carolynne.borders@henryschein.com, (631) 390-8105, Media, Susan Vassallo, or Vice President, Corporate Communications, susan.vassallo@henryschein.com, (631) 843-5562