Henry Schein Completes Acquisition of Provet Holdings Limited
MELVILLE, N.Y., Jan. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ --
Henry Schein, Inc. (Nasdaq: HSIC), the largest provider of health care products and services to office-based practitioners, today announced it has completed the acquisition of Provet Holdings Limited (ASX: PVT). All closing conditions have been met, including approval of the transaction by a majority of Provet Holdings shareholders.
Provet Holdings is Australasia's largest wholesale distributor of veterinary products. Based in Brisbane, Queensland, Provet Holdings reported revenue for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2010 of approximately AUD$283 million (USD$278 million). The last day of trading of its shares on the Australian Stock Exchange was December 16, 2010.
"With this transaction we have further strengthened our position as the global leader in the distribution of veterinary products. Henry Schein's global veterinary business now has annual revenues of nearly $2 billion and we serve approximately 47,000 veterinary practices worldwide," said Stanley M. Bergman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Henry Schein. "The rapid growth of Henry Schein's worldwide animal health presence reflects our long-term commitment to our veterinary customers and our firm belief in the significant potential of the global animal health market."
"Through the comprehensive array of products and services we offer animal health practitioners, we are helping our customers to operate more efficient and successful practices so they can focus on providing quality care. The scale of our veterinary business allows us to share best practices across geographies, and also to provide unrivaled value and market intelligence to the companies whose products and services we represent," he added. "We welcome Provet CEO Dr. Nigel Nichols and his colleagues to Team Schein."
Provet Holdings is a full-service veterinary distributor and service provider, including pharmaceuticals, pet nutrition products, consumables, instruments and equipment, and training and software. The Company is focused on veterinary practices and operates four core businesses: veterinary product wholesaling; sales, support and development of practice management software; consulting, education and training services; and online business activities.
Established in 1982, Provet Holdings has approximately 375 employees, and owns and operates 10 warehouses across Australia and three in New Zealand. The Company serves approximately 1,900 independent veterinary practices in Australasia.
About Henry Schein
Henry Schein, a Fortune 500(R) company and a member of the NASDAQ 100(R) Index, is recognized for its excellent customer service and highly competitive prices. The Company's five businesses - North American Dental, North American Medical, North American Animal Health, International and Technology - serve more than 700,000 customers worldwide, including dental practitioners and laboratories, physician practices and animal health clinics, 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 13,500 people and has operations or affiliates in 24 countries. The Company's net sales reached a record $6.5 billion in 2009. 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: decreased customer demand and changes in vendor credit terms; disruptions in financial markets; general economic conditions; 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; 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.
SOURCE Henry Schein, Inc.