Ayala set to increase stake in Generika

The Ayala group has raised its stake in the health care space by gaining majority control of the Generika group of companies, one of the pioneers in the retail distribution of generic medicines in the country.

Conglomerate Ayala Corp.’s wholly owned subsidiary Ayala Healthcare Holdings Inc. (AC Health) has agreed to increase its stake in the Generika group to 52.5 percent from 50 percent by subscribing to primary shares.

Generika’s issuance of new shares would in turn “raise additional capital for operations and national store expansion,” Ayala said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Thursday.

The Generika group is composed of Actimed Inc., Erikagen Inc., Novelis Solutions Inc., and Pharm Gen Ventures Corp. With over 800 stores nationwide, this is the third largest player in retail pharmacy in the country by number of stores.

“The transaction is expected to be value accretive to AC Health,” the disclosure said.

Issuance of shares to AC Health would only be made after the satisfaction of the conditions precedent, the disclosure said. Approval from the antitrust agency Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) is among the conditions needed to close the transaction.

The deal is priced at less than 10 percent of Ayala Corp.’s total equity.

AC Health first bought into Generika group in 2015, gaining a foothold in the affordable pharmaceutical retailing business. The drugstore then had 500 branches.

The Ayala group bought the 50-percent stake from the family of Julien Bello while Generika co-founder Teodoro Ferrer and his group kept the remaining interest.

The transaction was in line with Ayala’s venture into “soft infrastructure.” In 2014, property arm Ayala Land set up QualiMed, a chain of hospitals and satellite clinics, in partnership with the Mercado medical group.

In 2016, AC Health established Family Doc, a chain of community-based primary care clinics offering the combined services of a clinic, a diagnostic facility and a pharmacy under one roof.

Last year, AC Health invested in homegrown tech startup AIDE, which allows patients to book doctors, nurses and other medical professionals via an app. —DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA