Press Release Details

MELVILLE, N.Y., May 28, 2014 /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 a 50 percent ownership investment in Dental Speed Graph, the largest direct marketing provider of dental consumable merchandise in Brazil with a robust e-commerce platform, marking Henry Schein's entrance into South America.

Headquartered in the State of Santa Catarina, Brazil, Dental Speed Graph is a fast growing, privately held company with 2013 sales of approximately $28 million.  The company's dental business was founded in 2010 by Luciano Chaves, who will retain a 50 percent ownership position in Dental Speed Graph and continue as the company's Managing Director.  Dental Speed Graph has 170 team members and serves approximately 55,000 customers. 

With its investment in Dental Speed Graph, Henry Schein now has operations or affiliates in 27 countries.  Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

"We have long sought to establish a presence in Brazil, Latin America's largest economy and the seventh largest in the world, and we are delighted to be entering the Brazilian market in partnership with Dental Speed Graph," said Stanley M. Bergman, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Henry Schein. "Dental Speed Graph is an entrepreneurial company with proven success in direct marketing and e-commerce.  We look forward to working with all of our new colleagues at Dental Speed Graph to build on its heritage of leadership and offer dentists in Brazil a full range of products and services for operating successful practices."

Brazil has an estimated 150,000 practicing dentists who serve a market whose growth is being fueled by an aging population and an expanding middle class. 

"With the combined resources of Henry Schein and Dental Speed Graph we have the opportunity to serve our customers with a broader array of products, services and integrated solutions than ever before," said Mr. Chaves.  "We look forward to working together to enhance the already strong reputation that Dental Speed Graph enjoys in Brazil, expanding our market, and continuing to set the standard for excellence in customer service."

Henry Schein's dental business is the leading global distributor of products and services, including innovative digital dental technology solutions, to office-based general dental practitioners, dental specialists and dental laboratories.  The Company serves its customers through a multifaceted sales and marketing approach that includes more than 2,600 dedicated field sales consultants; product specialists, telesales representatives and direct marketing programs.  Henry Schein's global dental business had 2013 sales of approximately $5 billion. 

About Henry Schein, Inc.
Henry Schein, Inc. 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 NASDAQ 100® Index, Henry Schein employs nearly 17,000 Team Schein Members and serves more than 800,000 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 96,000 branded products and Henry Schein private-brand products in stock, as well as more than 110,000 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 27 countries.  The Company's sales reached a record $9.6 billion in 2013, 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 the Henry Schein website at www.henryschein.com.

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 macro-economic 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.

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, Vice President, Corporate Communications, susan.vassallo@henryschein.com, (631) 843-5562