Torfarm buys Itero

Torfarm buys Itero


Torfarm, a Polish drug wholesaler, has acquired a 76% stake in Itero, a pharma wholesaler based in Katowice, for almost PLN 45m (€12.5m). This gave Torfarm an additional 3% market share and leadership of the Polish drug wholesale market.
At present, Torfarm controls 21% of the market, while its main competitor, the largest Polish drug wholesaler, Polska Grupa Farmaceutyczna (PGF), has approx. 20%.
Itero is a perfect fit with the Torfarm group as it has a similar strategy of not owning or opening its own pharmacies, according to Piotr Sucharski, the firm’s general director. What’s more, Itero’s geographical coverage will strengthen Torfarm’s position in the south of the country.
Torfarm has offered the remaining shareholders in Itero a buy-out of their shares for a total of PLN 13m (€3.6m). The total cost of acquiring a 100% stake is estimated by Torfarm at PLN 58.07m (€16.1m).
The transaction has already been approved by the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK). It has been financed with its own resources and a bank credit line.
Torfarm is still open to other acquisitions, in particular of local wholesalers without their own pharmacies.