Ahead of its mega merger with Chemist Warehouse, Sigma Healthcare whose share price has rocketed more than 200% over the last 12 months, requested the ASX to halt trading of its shares on Wednesday.
It requested the pause pending announcements relating to the outcome of the Sigma shareholder meeting due to be held at 6pm on Wednesday and the Chemist Warehouse scheme meeting which will also be held on Wednesday.
The outcome of those meetings and the shareholders’ vote will result in the merger moving forward.
Under the deal, Sigma will acquire all the shares in Chemist Warehouse in exchange for Sigma shares and $700 million in cash.
Originally positioned as a $8.8 billion deal, Sigma’s share price soared over the past year which means it is now valued at around $29 billion.
The merger will result in Chemist Warehouse shareholders holding 85.75% of the ASX-listed merged entity, while Sigma shareholders would hold 14.25%.
The newly combined entity’s shares are expected to start trading on the ASX on February 13, subject to necessary court approvals and a favourable shareholder vote.
In a filing to the ASX on Tuesday, Sigma said that 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%.
“CWG has delivered a record result for 1H FY25 with double digit like-for-like Retail Network Sales growth, aided by a strong trading performance in December. We made good progress in transitioning wholesale supply to Sigma to drive efficiency gains and launched Wagner Pharma,” said Chemist Warehouse CEO Mario Verrocchi.
