McKesson Corporation, an international leader leading in health care services, and information technology company, will raise the level of its customer experience in Canada through the acquisition of Rexall Health for $2.9 billion CAD.
With the transaction, McKesson has acquired approximately 470 retail pharmacies and agreed to divest stores in 26 local markets that the Competition Bureau of Canada identified during its review of the transaction.
McKesson also appointed Domenic Pilla as CEO of McKesson Canada.
Dating back to 1904, Rexall Health and Rexall Health Pharma Plus pharmacies is among the most trusted names in retail pharmacy. Rexall Health is focused on helping Canadians feel good about their health through easy access to a wide assortment of health and wellness services and products. Supported by a team of more than 8,400 employees in over 470 pharmacies across the country, Rexall Health is continually evolving to enhance the customer experience. Rexall Health also includes Medicentres Canada, a group of family healthcare clinics in Edmonton, Calgary, London and Windsor where family physicians and specialists provide high-quality and accessible health care services to individuals and families.
Loyalty360 caught up with David Simmonds, vice president, public affairs, McKesson Canada, to find out more about this major acquisition,
“McKesson’s acquisition of Rexall Health is a natural next step for two companies that have a history of working together to deliver care to Canadians,” Simmonds explained. “With Rexall, McKesson will be able to serve a broad range of pharmaceutical care and ensure choice to consumers at a time when Canadians are, increasingly, turning to pharmacies for their healthcare advice and services.”
McKesson will now serve its customers with enhanced retail pharmacy capabilities and a broader reach across Canada.
“The acquisition will leverage McKesson’s existing assets to drive growth along the entire value chain, particularly in two of Canada’s fastest growing regions, Ontario and Western Canada,” Simmonds added. “McKesson expects customers to benefit from state-of-the-art art pharmacy solutions and industry leading service levels as the company further accelerates its expertise across the pharmaceutical value chain.”
Simmonds talked about the unique aspect of the deal.
“The strength of McKesson’s distribution channel in Canada enables the company to deliver value across the supply chain including independent and corporate pharmacies,” he explained. “McKesson has successfully operated both its distribution channel and supported retail banners for a number of years now and has delivered value for all its partners – right across the pharmaceutical value chain – much like the model successfully deployed in the European market. McKesson has successfully engaged in corporate retail pharmacy in Europe, where, similar to Canada, there is significant government regulatory involvement and the healthcare environment is rapidly evolving, marked by moving primary care into pharmacies and increasingly complex patient demand. McKesson looks forward to continuing to ensure that Canadians enjoy access, service, and the quality experience they have come to know and trust. Canadians will benefit from greater choice and access, integrated pharmacy care, and industry-leading service levels.”