Press Release Details

MELVILLE, N.Y., Sept. 1, 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 the completion of its 85 percent investment in 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. The transaction was announced on June 23, 2015.

KRUUSE had sales in 2014 of approximately $90 million.  The remaining 15 percent of KRUUSE will be retained by the Kruuse family. Additional financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. 

"We are delighted to welcome the KRUUSE team to the Henry Schein family, as we enter the Scandinavian animal health market," said Stanley M. Bergman, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Henry Schein. "We could not ask for a better partner in the Nordic countries.  From the highly regarded line of KRUUSE-branded products and strong brand awareness to the company's high level of customer loyalty and satisfaction based on its well-deserved reputation for quality, KRUUSE has it all.  The addition of KRUUSE is an important step forward in our global animal health growth strategy."

Jesper Smith, who has served as Chief Executive Officer of KRUUSE since 2009, joins Henry Schein with continuing responsibility for the KRUUSE business.  Other members of the KRUUSE leadership team will also remain with the company, including Peter Eriksen Jensen, who will serve as Vice Chairman of the KRUUSE Board of Directors, and Mads Kruuse, who will serve as a member of the KRUUSE Board.

With the acquisition of KRUUSE, Henry Schein's animal health business, which had 2014 annual sales of approximately $2.9 billion, now spans 17 European countries and 23 countries globally, including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.   KRUUSE operations in Denmark, Norway and Sweden also expand Henry Schein, Inc.'s geographic presence to 33 countries. 

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 strength across Europe and the United Kingdom. KRUUSE has approximately 250 team members.

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 33 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; Carolynne Borders, Vice President, Investor Relations, carolynne.borders@henryschein.com, (631) 390-8105; Media: Susan Vassallo, Vice President, Corporate Communications, susan.vassallo@henryschein.com, (631) 843-5562