Henry Schein Completes Acquisition Of Medivet, Expands Animal Health Business To Poland

MELVILLE, N.Y., April 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ: HSIC), the world's largest provider of health care products and services to office-based dental, animal health and medical practitioners, announced today that it has completed the acquisition of an approximate 80% ownership position in Medivet, a leading distributor of animal health products and services in Poland. This marks Henry Schein's first investment in Poland and increases to 26 the number of countries in which Henry Schein operates.

Medivet had 2013 sales of approximately $86 million and serves approximately 2,200 customers.  This transaction was first announced on November 14, 2013. 

"Medivet provides a strategic base for expansion in Eastern Europe's growing animal health market and the opportunity to work collaboratively with Henry Schein's other businesses in the region, in particular the Czech Republic," said Stanley M. Bergman, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Henry Schein. "With an expanded geographic reach, we will provide further value to our supplier partners while bringing the widest array of supplies and value-added products to Medivet's customers, consistent with our goal of helping customers operate efficient, profitable businesses and provide high-quality care."

With Medivet, Henry Schein now serves veterinary customers in 12 European countries including Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.  The Company also has Animal Health businesses in the United States, Australia and New Zealand.  In 2013, Henry Schein's Global Animal Health business had sales of approximately $2.6 billion.

About Henry Schein, Inc.
Henry Schein, Inc. is the world's largest provider of health care products and services to office-based dental, animal health and medical practitioners.  The Company also serves dental laboratories, government and institutional health care clinics, and other alternate care sites.  A Fortune 500® Company and a member of the NASDAQ 100® Index, Henry Schein employs more than 16,000 Team Schein Members and serves more than 800,000 customers.

The Company offers a comprehensive selection of products and services, including value-added solutions for operating efficient practices and delivering high-quality care.  Henry Schein operates through a centralized and automated distribution network, with a selection of more than 96,000 branded products and Henry Schein private-brand products in stock, as well as more than 110,000 additional products available as special-order items. The Company also offers its customers exclusive, innovative technology solutions, including practice management software and e-commerce solutions, as well as a broad range of financial services.

Headquartered in Melville, N.Y., Henry Schein has operations or affiliates in 26 countries.  The Company's sales reached a record $9.6 billion in 2013, and have grown at a compound annual rate of approximately 16% since Henry Schein became a public company in 1995.  For more information, visit the Henry Schein website at www.henryschein.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

In accordance with the "Safe Harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, we provide the following cautionary remarks regarding important factors that, among others, could cause future results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements, expectations and assumptions expressed or implied herein.  All forward-looking statements made by us are subject to risks and uncertainties and are not guarantees of future performance.  These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance and achievements or industry results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.  These statements are identified by the use of such terms as "may," "could," "expect," "intend," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "forecast," "project," "anticipate" or other comparable terms.  A full discussion of our operations and financial condition, including factors that may affect our business and future prospects, is contained in documents we have filed with the SEC and will be contained in all subsequent periodic filings we make with the SEC. These documents identify in detail important risk factors that could cause our actual performance to differ materially from current expectations.

Risk factors and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from current and historical results include, but are not limited to: effects of a highly competitive market; our dependence on third parties for the manufacture and supply of our products; our dependence upon sales personnel, customers, suppliers and manufacturers; our dependence on our senior management; fluctuations in quarterly earnings; risks from expansion of customer purchasing power and multi-tiered costing structures; possible increases in the cost of shipping our products or other service issues with our third-party shippers; general global macro-economic conditions; disruptions in financial markets; possible volatility of the market price of our common stock; changes in the health care industry; implementation of health care laws; failure to comply with regulatory requirements and data privacy laws; risks associated with our global operations; transitional challenges associated with acquisitions and joint ventures, including the failure to achieve anticipated synergies; financial risks associated with acquisitions and joint ventures; litigation risks; the dependence on our continued product development, technical support and successful marketing in the technology segment; risks from challenges associated with the emergence of potential increased competition by third party online commerce sites; risks from disruption to our information systems; certain provisions in our governing documents that may discourage third-party acquisitions of us; and changes in tax legislation. The order in which these factors appear should not be construed to indicate their relative importance or priority. 

We caution that these factors may not be exhaustive and that many of these factors are beyond our ability to control or predict.  Accordingly, any forward-looking statements contained herein should not be relied upon as a prediction of actual results.  We undertake no duty and have no obligation to update forward-looking statements.

SOURCE Henry Schein, Inc.