Buying a Pharmacy

Changes in the pharmacy industry over the past few years has affected the circumstances of buying a pharmacy. Even with cuts in reimbursements, lower net profits, and fewer companies and individuals buying pharmacies there is still demand for pharmacy acquisitions.

Pharmacists working at chain stores are weighing the benefits of self-employment against the grind of the chain job. To finance a pharmacy acquisition, lenders want a borrower to have some skin in the game. Therefore, when there is an adequate down payment, financing an acquisition is a real possibility.

Companies who have a niche are able to create new paths of income when purchasing a pharmacy in targeted communities. Niche strategies have been successful for many drug store companies who do not want to compete head to head as a retailer against the national pharmacy chains.

Asset or Stock Purchase?

Buying a pharmacy can be done as an asset purchase, where only the assets are bought. Assets are the customer files, inventory, furniture, and fixtures. Assets are purchased free and clear of any liens. The corporate stock and any liabilities remain with the seller of the assets. Buying a pharmacy with this method usually means the buyer has another store nearby where the buyer can move the customer files. As an example, the major chains do asset purchases.

Stock purchases are completed when a drug store buyer requires a fully functioning pharmacy. The corporation owns all of the customer files and other assets, along with the PBM contracts, wholesale accounts, bank accounts, etc. The stock of the corporation is purchased meaning all of the above is acquired by the buyer.

Pharmacy Buying and Managing Process

When you are seeking to purchase a pharmacy, or many pharmacies, PharmacyValuations.com can assist you. Whether you are an individual buying your first drug store, a small company seeking to capture market share for your niche, or a major pharmacy chain PharmacyValuations.com can provide targeted acquisition services for you.

We don’t “List” Pharmacies for Sale, then wait for buyers to respond to an advertisement. Targeted acquisitions are our specialty. Buyers provide their parameters and we do the leg work. Will having our team doing the up-front work provide your company reductions in acquisition costs? Absolutely! Buyers can focus their skills on making money, while PharmacyValuations.com uses our skills and resources to provide the buyer acquisition opportunities that match their needs.

When it comes to managing the transaction, we don’t just dump a bunch of documents on the buyer’s desk. Having worked in pharmacy acquisitions since the year 2000, we have a thorough understanding of the process, the documents, and closing procedures. We do everything we can to assist the buyer in getting their complete list of questions answered. We manage the acquisition process, so both the seller and the buyer have a positive and efficient transaction.

Learn about our Policies for Buying a Pharmacy, or contact us to ask questions about how we can assist you and your company. We are happy to spend time talking about opportunities and strategies.