Chemist Warehouse is set to be listed in a reverse listing via Sigma Healthcare.
Tipped to go it alone, the owners of the retail giant, the Melbourne based Gance and Verrocchi families have moved to take control of Sigma Healthcare via a $350M capital raising via Goldman Sachs.
Chemist Warehouse has 500 stores and net profits of around $300 million in 2022-23 on $3.1 billion of revenue.
A major seller of small healthcare appliances the business has been built up on large volume low margin marketing.
The first Chemist Warehouse stores opened in Melbourne in 2000 under Jack Gance and Mario Verrocchi today most major suburbs have a Chemist Warehouse store.
Under the deal the Chemist Warehouse owners will take control of Sigma Healthcare in a reverse listing.
The AFR claims that sources said there will be balanced representation at senior management level and on the board, which will grow to eight members from seven.
Sigma CEO Vikesh Ramsunder will remain at the helm, given his prior experience in running a similar business at one of South Africa’s biggest pharmaceutical wholesalers, Clicks Group, before he joined Sigma in 2021.
Sigma’s biggest investor is HMC Capital run by ex-banker David Di Pilla, who is the cousin of Chemist Warehouse co-founder Mario Verrocchi.
Chemist Warehouse was a foundation tenant of Mr Di Pilla’s Home Consortium, according to substantial shareholder notices.
Sigma won back the $2 billion Chemist Warehouse wholesale pharmaceuticals contract from New Zealand-based rival EBOS in June. As part of this, Chemist Warehouse took a 10 per cent stake in Sigma, which together with Home Consortium, controls 30 per cent of the small group claims the AFR.
