DCC plc, the leading international sales, marketing, and support services group, announces that DCC Healthcare has agreed to acquire Wörner Medizinprodukte Holding GmbH (“Wörner”), a leading supplier of medical and laboratory products to the primary care sector in Germany and Switzerland.
Wörner was established in 1991 and has grown organically and through bolt-on acquisitions to become one of the leading primary care suppliers in the fragmented German market, providing nationwide sales and distribution coverage; it also has a strong presence in the Swiss market. Wörner sells a broad product range to approximately 20,000 customers annually, including general practitioners, primary care centres, specialist medical centres and laboratories. The business recorded revenue of approximately €70 million in 2020 and employs 158 people. Wörner will continue to be led by its existing, experienced, management team from its headquarters in Reutlingen, Germany.
Wörner will join the DCC Vital group, a leader in the sales, marketing and distribution of medical products to the hospital, community and primary care sectors in Britain and Ireland. There are strong similarities between DCC Vital’s primary care activities and Wörner, particularly in terms of customer focus, product offering and digitalsales approach, providing value creation opportunities in areas such as procurement, marketing and the use of technology. Wörner has an active bolt-on acquisition target list. DCC, with its expertise in acquisitive growth, will, following completion of the transaction, work with the Wörner team to accelerate the execution of these opportunities. The acquisition of Wörner will also provide a platform for the expansion of DCC Vital’s broader activities into Continental Europe, particularly in Germany, which is a large, well-funded and growing healthcare market.
DCC is acquiring Wörner based on an initial enterprise value of approximately €80 million. The acquisition is subject to competition authority approval in Germany and Austria and is expected to complete in April 2021.
“The acquisition of Wörner represents a significant scale-up of our primary care business and extends DCC Vital’s sales and marketing activities into Continental Europe for the first time. DCC Vital is a key growth platform for DCC and has delivered strong organic growth in recent years in the sales and marketing of medical products across the primary care, community, and hospital sectors. DCC Vital will continue to build its business across Europe in the coming years and Wörner will provide an excellent platform for further acquisition activity, both in Germany, Europe’s largest healthcare market, and across the DACH region.”
Donal Murphy, Chief Executive of DCC plc