Robinsons Retail acquires 100% of Rose Pharmacy to boost drugstore business

MANILA, Philippines — Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc. announced Friday it would take over Rose Pharmacy Inc., a leading drugstore chain in the Visayas and Mindanao regions.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange, the Gokongwei-led firm said its subsidiary, South Star Drug Inc., will acquire100% of Rose Pharmacy from Mulgrave Corp. B.V., a unit of Dairy Farm International Holdings Ltd.

Under the transaction, Robinsons Retail purchased "in full and in cash" 24.3 million shares from Mulgrave at P184.85 each to acquire Rose Pharmacy, which has over 300 stores that are "strategically" located in Visayas and Mindanao.

“Rose Pharmacy is a very strategic addition to our drugstore portfolio with its highly-regarded brand in VisMin and complementary network to Southstar Drug’s strong presence in Luzon and Metro Manila," David Goh, managing director of South Star, said.

"Together, we can leverage our scale and synergies to drive wider product assortment, better customer service and offer greater value to our customers across Philippines when they need it most," Goh added.

Rose Pharmacy was established in 1952 as a family-run drugstore in Cebu City. In 2015, Dairy Farm bought 49% share in the Cebu-based business and later acquired full control over the company in November 2018.

At present, Rose Pharmacy is one of the leading drugstore chains in the Philippines with nearly P9 billion in net sales in 2019.

"The deal also further bolsters our strategic partnership with Dairy Farm to strengthen our position in Philippine multi-format retailing. We first worked with Dairy Farm for the acquisition of Rustan Supercenters Inc. in 2018, which deepened our footprint in the premium supermarket space," Robina Gokongwei-Pe, company president and chief executive, said.

"Our acquisition of Rose Pharmacy yet again offers ripe opportunities for innovation through strategic synergies,” Gokongwei-Pe added.

On Friday, shares in Robinsons Retail fell 2.60% to end the week at P65.50 apiece.