Following the approval by Chemist Warehouse shareholders of a reverse takeover deal with the ASX-listed Sigma Healthcare last month, the newly merged $30 billion entity listed on the ASX on Thursday.
Chemist Warehouse shareholders hold 85.75% of the ASX-listed merged entity, while Sigma shareholders hold 14.25%.
Early trading of the share on Thursday morning saw Sigma’s share price up around 2.54% to A$2.83. In the last 12 months, as preparations for the Chemist Warehouse deal were underway, its share price has climbed more than 160%.
About 63.5 million shares in Sigma Healthcare changed hands late on Wednesday at $2.80 to $2.75, representing $175 million worth of stock.
Chemist Warehouse franchisees were issued their Sigma shares on Tuesday, shortly before the new entity began trading on the ASX.
There are 4.1 billion shares in the hands of un-escrowed franchisees that can now be freely traded.
Chemist Warehouse founders Jack and Sam Gance and Mario Verrocchi are set to hold about 49% of the combined entity’s shares, which will be subject to escrow conditions restricting them from trade until at least August 2025.
The newly merged entity creates business with almost 1000 stores and annual earnings of $1 billion.
Chemist Warehouse’s total retail network sales for the six months to December 31 came in at $5.15 billion, up 13%.
The company opened 36 new stores during the half, and now has 658 stores overall, the majority of which are in Australia.
Chemist Warehouse’s earnings before interest and tax came in at $437.9 million, up 35%, while the company’s earnings margin expanded from 18.3% to 22.3%.
Analysts expect the company’s growth momentum to continue, with the company forecast to report profit of more than $800 million this financial year.
“I think there was an article that said the other day that said how many millionaires were going to be created. That’s fantastic. It’s a win, win, win for everybody,” noted Jack Gance just before shareholders voted in favour of the deal.
