Press Release Details

MELVILLE, N.Y. - January 4, 2012 – Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ: HSIC), the largest provider of health care products and services to office-based practitioners, today announced the acquisition of Veterinary Instrumentation, the leading supplier of surgical instruments and implants to veterinary surgeons in the United Kingdom.  Veterinary Instrumentation sales for the 12 months ended September 30, 2011 were approximately GBP 6.7 million ($10.8 million).  Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“We are delighted to welcome this highly regarded company to the Henry Schein family, and very pleased that founder John Lapish and Managing Director Steve Fletcher will continue to drive the business forward,” said Stanley M. Bergman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Henry Schein.  “The success of Veterinary Instrumentation closely parallels the cornerstones of Henry Schein, including a deep understanding of customer needs, innovative solutions, superior product quality and customer service, and a trusted advisory relationship with our customers.  Reinforcing our existing animal health business in the U.K., we look forward to strengthening our relationship with veterinary customers in this region, and bringing the Veterinary Instrumentation product portfolio of high-quality surgical specialties to a growing number of veterinarians across Europe, the United States and Australasia.”

Veterinary Instrumentation was founded by John Lapish in 1986 in Sheffield, England, where the business and distribution operations are currently conducted from a single facility.  Working as a small animal orthopaedic surgeon in the late 1970s, Mr. Lapish began designing and developing a range of instruments specifically for veterinary surgery, initially for his own use.  As requests for these products increased, the market need became clear and Veterinary Instrumentation was formed, in particular to meet the needs of orthopaedic surgeons focused on small animals.

“We look forward to contributing to the continued growth and success of a leading supplier of companion animal health products and services in the United Kingdom and to becoming part of a global leader in the distribution of health care products and services,” said Mr. Lapish.  “The expertise that we bring in the area of veterinary surgical instruments will complement Henry Schein’s broad offering, and our customers will benefit greatly from the global resources of a company that has quickly become an animal health care product and service leader on three continents.”

With approximately 60 percent of sales in the U.K., and the balance split fairly evenly between Europe and the rest of the world, Veterinary Instrumentation has 20 employees, including a team of eight Veterinary Technicians who advise customers on the most appropriate procedures and instrumentation. 

About Henry Schein’s Animal Health Business
Henry Schein is the leading Pan-European distributor of animal health products and services, serving more than 18,000 veterinary customers through its operations across eight European countries, including Austria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.  With sales of approximately $2 billion, Henry Schein’s global animal health business also includes operations in the United States, Australia and New Zealand, and serves a total of approximately 52,000 veterinary customers.

About Henry Schein, Inc.
Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ: HSIC), the largest provider of health care products and services to office-based practitioners, is a Fortune 500® company and a member of the NASDAQ 100® Index.  The Company is recognized for its excellent customer service and highly competitive prices.  Henry Schein’s five businesses – Dental, Medical, Animal Health, International, and Technology – serve more than 700,000 customers worldwide, including dental practitioners and laboratories, physician practices, and animal health practices, as well as government and other institutions. 
The Company operates through a centralized and automated distribution network, which provides customers in more than 200 countries with a comprehensive selection of more than 90,000 national and Henry Schein private-brand products in stock, as well as more than 100,000 additional products available as special-order items.  Henry Schein also provides exclusive, innovative technology offerings for dental, medical, and veterinary professionals, including value-added practice management software and electronic health record solutions.

Headquartered in Melville, N.Y., Henry Schein employs more than 14,000 people and has operations or affiliates in 25 countries.  The Company’s net sales reached a record $7.5 billion in 2010.  For more information, visit the Henry Schein Web site at www.henryschein.com.

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: recently enacted healthcare legislation; effects of a highly competitive market; changes in the healthcare industry; changes in regulatory requirements; risks from expansion of customer purchasing power and multi-tiered costing structures; risks associated with our international operations; fluctuations in quarterly earnings; our dependence on third parties for the manufacture and supply of our products; transitional challenges associated with acquisitions, including the failure to achieve anticipated synergies; financial risks associated with acquisitions; regulatory and litigation risks; the dependence on our continued product development, technical support and successful marketing in the technology segment; risks from disruption to our information systems; general economic conditions; decreased customer demand and changes in vendor credit terms; disruptions in financial markets; our dependence upon sales personnel, manufacturers and customers; our dependence on our senior management; possible increases in the cost of shipping our products or other service issues with our third-party shippers; risks from rapid technological change; possible volatility of the market price of our common stock; 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.

FOR: Henry Schein, Inc.
 CONTACT: Susan Vassallo
 Vice President,
 Corporate Communications
 +1 (631) 843-5562
 susan.vassallo@henryschein.com

OR: Stefanie Fleige
 Senior Manager,
 International Corporate Communications
 + 49 (40) 65 668-691
 stefanie.fleige@henryschein.com