Competition authority blocks Uniphar acquisition of NaviCorp

James Cox

The Irish Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has announced that it has blocked the acquisition of pharmaceutical company NaviCorp by Uniphar on competition grounds.

NaviCorp has relationships with over 400 pharmacies in Ireland, of which around 100 are fully franchised. It is an "important customer "of Uniphar.

In a statement, Uniphar said: "Uniphar plc today announces that the Irish Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (“CCPC”) has not cleared the proposed acquisition of Irish-headquartered pharmacy services group Navi Group (“Navi”).

"Following the proposal to acquire Navi, which was announced on 23rd December 2021, both Uniphar and Navi have engaged extensively with the CCPC and supported them in their review of the proposed transaction. However, the transaction will now no longer proceed to completion.

"Navi has been a longstanding partner of Uniphar and both parties will continue to work closely together to support our shared customer base of independent community pharmacies."