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Highlights
- Wesfarmers Limited has finished the acquisition of Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Limited.
- Wesfarmers' shares were spotted trading 1.964% lower at AU$49.420 per share on ASX at 10:39 AM AEDT.
- Earlier, API shareholders had voted in favour of this takeover on 17 March this year.
The shares of Wesfarmers Limited (ASX:WES) traded in the red during the early trading hours on Friday (1 April 2022). This was after the retail conglomerate revealed that WFM Investments Pty Ltd has acquired 100% of the shares in Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (ASX:API). WFM Investments Pty Ltd is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Wesfarmers.
The announcement means that now Wesfarmers will be the official owner of Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Limited.
As per today's announcement, API will apply for its removal from the ASX official list, which is expected to occur from the close of trade on 1 April 2022.
Wesfarmers' shares were spotted trading 1.964% lower at AU$49.420 per share on ASX at 10:39 AM AEDT. The share price of Wesfarmers has lost over 6% over the last one year, while the stock is down almost 17% year-to-date (YTD).
Meanwhile, today the API shares traded flat at AU$1.530 per share on ASX during the intraday trading session.
It is worth mentioning that the takeover was initially tabled in July 2021; however, it was rejected by API's board at that time. Later, the offer was accepted after a revised price offer of AU$1.55 per API share.
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Scheme consideration
The company has informed that the scheme consideration of AU$1.50 per share paid to API shareholders today brings the overall cash consideration to AU$1.55 per share. This includes AU$0.05 per share in dividends paid to API shareholders following the scheme's announcement.
The addition of API to the Group will be the first business step of the company's new health division as Wesfarmers develop capabilities and invest in the growing health, wellbeing and beauty sector.
The initial capital employed for the Wesfarmers health division is anticipated to be roughly AU$1,025 million, indicating the total cash consideration of AU$774 million paid to API shareholders along with the estimated funding requirement for API's net debt and related working capital balance.
Image Source: © Gajus | Megapixl.com
Wesfarmers is an ASX-listed diversified company with business operations across all the verticals such as supermarkets, liquor, hotels, home improvement and outdoor living. The company has a market capitalisation of AU$57.17 billion.
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Managing Director Rob Scott has termed the API acquisition an exciting milestone for both companies while also adding that the company is looking forward to working closely with API's pharmacy partners, suppliers, and other industry stakeholders.
Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Limited is an Australian health and beauty company. The company's shareholders voted in favour of this takeover on 17 March this year.
