Healthcare conglomerate Ascendis is looking to continue to grow its business by attracting the vibrant eastern European niche markets.
The company has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years through several acquisitions announced the latest purchase of Sunwave Pharma and NHP Natural Health Pharma for €42.5m. The maximum deferred payment agreed upon is €23m over three years, to be determined by the achievement of profit margins.
Sunwave is Romania’s biggest company in the food supplements market, selling and distributing complementary and alternative medicines. NHP is a Cypress-based nutraceutical seller with a portfolio of complementary medicines. Sunwave is its biggest buyer.
Ascendis is expecting to see half its revenues coming from Africa and the other half from the rest of the world after its 2016 acquisition of Remedica, a European-based drug company, as well as Scitec, a sports nutrition specialist.
Karsten Wellner, Ascendis CEO, says he expects that what has been a successful distribution model for Sunwave can be duplicated in the surrounding eastern European countries. He added that the Romanian food supplement market has had astounding growth since 2013.
“Not only is Sunwave a key player in an attractive market, it has generated superior returns due to a clear increase in market share as it continues to outpace industry growth,” he said.
