RAMSAY Health Care's ambitions to expand further into community pharmacy have taken a significant step forward, with the company confirming it will add 18 pharmacies across Queensland.
The listed healthcare operator has exchanged contracts for the acquisition of the Malouf Group, Queensland's largest privately owned pharmacy network.
Malouf Pharmacies has pharmacies across Brisbane and the surrounding areas, on the Sunshine Coast and in a range of regional locations including Toowoomba, Gympie, Bundaberg, Rockhampton and Mackay.
The group employs more than 450 staff across the state.
Ramsay said it had exchanged contracts with Malouf on 10 Aug 2017, with finalisation of the deal subject to "normal conditions precedent" and settlement expected some time next month.
The company recently flagged the acceleration of its push into community pharmacy (PD 24 Jul) with aspirations to grow the Ramsay Pharmacy network to around 300 community pharmacies across Australia by 2020.
The Malouf pharmacies will complement the 29 community pharmacies currently operating under the Ramsay banner, as well as about 70 hospital-based dispensing pharmacies within the Ramsay private hospital network.
A Ramsay spokesperson told Pharmacy Daily that at this stage the company couldn't comment on the future branding of Malouf Group pharmacies.
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