Alliance Boots to increase stake in Anzag

Alliance Boots has announced the acquisition of an additional 14.1 percent in Anzag, one of Germany's leading pharmaceutical wholesalers.

The company has purchased an additional 1,508,462 shares in Anzag and intends to inform the Anzag management of its plans to request a squeeze-out of its remaining shareholders.

This would give Alliance Boots full control over a business that operates 25 distribution centres serving approximately 8,000 customers across Germany, which is Europe's largest pharmaceutical market.

For the short fiscal year ending on March 31st 2012, it generated revenues equivalent to around 2.1 billion pounds, while it also operated divisions in Romania, Lithuania and Croatia.

It will also aid Alliance Boots' efforts to become an increasingly global player, as underlined by the announcement earlier this month that it is forming a strategic partnership with Walgreens, the largest drug store chain in the US.

This alliance will lead to the creation of the world's largest pharmacy-led health and wellbeing retailer, with more than 11,000 stores in 12 countries.